I Own a “Logitech Extreme 3D Pro”,…Can Anyone tell me if I would do better with a Different Make & Model & WHY ?? I Dont have any experience with any others !
Are you not satisfied with the joystick you have?
I use a VKB Gunfighter Mk.III joystick (‘Modern Combat Edition’ Ultimate, a little overkill for only flying the Xcub with, I know) but I could do the same interactions (steering) with any other brand or model.
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Solely depends on your setup m8, if you are running a desk, it’s easy to operate the throttle near you, if you are running a dedicated simrig, it wouldn’t be any fun if you’d fly right handed, and have to reach with your left to the right to be able to operate the throttle on the stick… in that case i’d recommend some kind of throttle quadrant.
I’ve had a dedicated racingrig for years, but did flying (Logitech 3D stick, the old one, followed by the Saitek Cyborg Evo Force, a very cool looking FFB joystick) on a desk. Then a buddy offered me his G940 at a very reasonable price, and as most my friends were sporting an X52 hotas without ffb, i wanted a “new” one with FFB, as i loved that very much in il2 i was flying from 2001… I tried flying on a desk with the G940, but due to my work, comfort in armposition is key in my spare time, so i adapted a couple of things… as you can see here… (and nope, i’m not a very good handyman, so it’s comfort before style nor knowledge upon creating things, hahaha)
As a year later the seat broke down, i adapted the racerig to hold the flightgear, but it wasn’t ideal, and i couldn’t fit the flightpedals in the rig, so had to use my racepedals, which are not ideal for flying.
Then last year i did a complete makeover as my girlfriend gifted me an obutto, so redid the whole room… and now it’s like this. (i tried deskclamps in between, they were alright, but i’m loving the comfort of flying and racing in my obutto now)
i just slide the seat all the way back, put the G940 pedals infront of the racing pedals, put the joystick and throttles in place and in notime i have a flying rig or racingrig using the same screen… When i wanna play/work from the desk, i only move over the mouse and keyboard.
And yeah… i started with a joystick like yours… i guess my hobby sort of became a bit bigger over the past 20 or so years… demands change… so does the wallet.
So far i’ve not seen a proper affordable ffb hotas combo come up that tops my G940, so i’m not buying anything new just yet.
Before all these pictures, i started off using a small joystick with 2 buttons for flightsim 3 or 4 and also used it for racing the Indy500 racegame at the time (1993-ish? or even earlier?) and worked up in kit to a, like my friends in the racingsims called “ghetto-rig” to this “latest” off the shelf stuff, which suits my comfort level and ergonomics. (just installed two brackets underneath the obutto seat to raise it 2 inches as it was too flippin low, hihi 
)
Just remember, A simrig is never finished… and i realise you are just starting to dig in asking the question you did. Just consider this post as a warning to your future you… you dont have to buy everything first try, just slowly upgrade as you start falling in love with your hobby more and more and idea’s and update/upgrades will come along. I just think if you upgrade too quickly, you might cut short the adventure of finding your perfect setup and throw it out alltogether… So try different things whilst building up to your own idea of perfection.
So, Any plans, dreams or whatnot following this post? If you love it, you’ll save for it… as you know it’s worth it in the end…
Have a great flight, Captain!
Woof ~ Woof & salute!
Steiny
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Like much in life flight sim peripherals are a case of “buy once, cry once”
Sure there are plenty of mainstream plastic offerings out there which don’t have great components in them but are still asking quite a bit more than they are actually worth.
And then there are the smaller companies that rely on their reputation for design, component choice etc to sell stuff.
These tend to be a little more expensive but are longer term investments which will serve you longer.
For the basic desktop joystick which includes a throttle on the base type experience I would recommend the VKB Gkadiator NXT.
Good design and quality components throughout.
For grip ergonomics.
I have both the Virpil MT-50 military grip and a Virpil Constellation Alpha which is a little bit sci-fi looking space sim grip.
To be perfectly honest the ergonomics of the Alpha are really good. It’s just really comfortable to have in the hand for a long time. The MT-50 is a bit less chunky and I felt the need to wear a glove when flying for extended periods.
For general ergonomics.
Once you have the ability to do so, lower the height of your joystick. Your shoulder should be relaxed and your forearm not higher than your elbow. For ultimate ergonomics forearm resting on thigh almost with the stick between your legs.
When you get to this point you will be looking for the HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) type set up where you have a separate throttle set to one side.
Again. This should be set low enough to be comfortable.
I’ve got the same Logitech as you kicking around somewhere. I found it a bit angular and not so comfortable.
I have also been through a few Thrustmaster T16000’s. The ergonomics are a bit better. Not great, but ok. However the component choices and reliability are quite poor. The buttons are all very mushy and the cheap potentiometers fail quite quickly.
(Once you have bought a couple of those you might as well have paid for a VKB or Virpil)
Extended ergonomics.
I flew for a pretty long time using the twist grip function for rudder/strafe but if you do it for too long or the adjustments are small and fiddly the wrist gets a little more strain than might be desirable.
Improvement to ergonomics here would be to forget the twist altogether and go with rudder pedals.