|
Saitek Aviator Joystick (Xbox 360/PC) | 
| From: Saitek
Category: Video Games
List Price: £39.99
Buy New: £31.95
as of 4/9/2010 04:25 CDT details
You Save: £8.04 (20%)
New (2) Used (1) from £31.95
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 2113
Platforms: Windows XP, Xbox 360
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 8 x 10.6
MPN: PS41
Model: PS41
UPC: 211651094526
EAN: 5051964628286
ASIN: B001EYU1W8
Release Date: February 20, 2009
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | 3 buttons heavy duty trigger and POV analog stick | | • | 2 buttons Start and Select and D-pad | | • | Dual mode switch - changes control layout to sup | | • | Large flat base gives total stability | | • | - |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
- Created in collaboration with Ubisoft, the Saitek Aviator Stick works perfectly with Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. to give you the ultimate flight combat experience! Also compatible with other Air Combat Simulations including Blazing Angels, Blazing Angels 2 and Ace Combat 6.
- Trigger and three buttons on head of stick
- POV hat switch (D-Pad)
- 8 buttons on base of stick
- Throttle lever
- Twist axis for rudder
- Xbox Guide Button
- Integrated Xbox LIVE headset connector
- Provides more intuitive control for flight games than a gamepad can offer
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Generally good but could be better September 10, 2009
M. Carr (UK)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
I bought this joystick as Amazon recommended it to play IL2 Sturmovik on the Xbox 360. I have a PC but haven't tried it on that due to lack of flight simulators. If you don't want to read the whole review I will summarise the good and bad points at the end.
The stick itself comes in a big box that is suprisingly light. Which made me a little nervous. On getting it out of the box it does feel light but well made. It is nicely designed, with attractive little details such as the logo on the side and the bolts around the switches. It also has a flip up hatch over the bomb button which is a nice touch and you end up closing it just so you can push it up again later. Oddly the wrist rest comes in bits in the box and you have to assemble that bit yourself. You will need a small philips head screwdriver as one is not provided. It only takes seconds though.
Starting with the top of the stick, this contains most of your fire buttons, bombs, rockets and the targeting button. In the centre of these buttons is a direction stick that you can use to look around 360 degrees. This is a really nice touch and means that you can scan the skies whilst keeping the plane flying dead ahead.
The front of the stick has the throttle lever. On the PS3 I believe there are 2 levers but on the Xbox they are joined together. Apparently this means that the Xbox gets a better twist on the handle. The twist is used to control the rudders. On the back of the stick there is the large Xbox button that is on all Xbox controllers, the "start" and "back" buttons, another stick and then 4 other buttons. These perform functions such as "map" and "follow target". The middle stick is used to select wingman commands.
Also in this array of buttons is the microphone jack. This is where one of the problems lie with the joystick. The headphone jack will not fit the jack off the standard Xbox360 headset. It has no slot for the black connectors on either side of the jack. I trawled the internet for answers and apparently if you can get through to Saitek they will send you an adaptor. Why they don't include it is beyond me. Otherwise you will need a wireless Xbox360 headset, or as I did, dug out my orginal Xbox 1 headset and used that. This is a big drawback to me especially as this means I can't use my surround headphones with the standard jack when using this stick.
The second big drawback is the lack of rumble. You get so used to feeling a rumble when you are hit in xbox games that without it often you die in multiplayer without being aware you were being shot. I wish this had been added.
There is no force feedback on the joystick and the resistance is provided by a large spring around the base of the stick. This works fine. On most flight sticks there is a dead spot where slight movements of the stick has no effect on the plane. This is no exception and you end up sometimes tapping the stick to make slight adjustments. It is not too bad though and in the past most flight sticks I have used have been similar or worse.
On the base of the stick it has little rubber feet and they hold well on my glass desk. I usually use the stick on my lap though and that works fine.
To summarise I am happy with the stick. It feels well made and is intuitive to use. The "look around" stick on the top is great and the throttle and missile switch are all nice touches. There are still some glitches using the stick with IL2 such as the lack of brakes when landing but apparently these will be fixed in the game shortly.
The lack of rumble and the ill thought through headphone jack are a big miss but it does feel like a well programmed stick that is designed for your Xbox. And I haven't seen any others. If you like flight sims and want the controls to feel more natural than the standard xbox controller (which I don't think handles flight sims well) then I would recommend it.
Pros:
Nice looking
Well laid out buttons
Good in game functionality
The "Look around" stick
fun to use
Cons:
No rumble
Headphone jack not compatible with xbox360 standard jack. You will need either the original Xbox 1 headphones or the wireless one
Slightly light weight of the stick
Slight dead zone in the centre of the stick
Mixed Opinions January 1, 2010
Nigel Heather (West Sussex, UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I received my order from Amazon I had a slight suspicion that I had been sent a returned unit. The reason is that the box was not sealed and the lead was wrapped up in an untidy fashion. Also there was no manual or disk of any sort. However, the joystick was still fixed to the packaging with a massive nylon tie-lock so I gave Amazon the benefit of the doubt.
However, my suspicion has grown when I have found that there is a manual available online and this is needed to explain some of the features, such as the Mode switch. So looking like I was sent a 'used' model.
The manual describes a wrist support and how to fit it - there was no wrist support in my box, adding to the theory that I was sent a 'used' unit.
I also found on the Saitek website that there are software drivers and application software needed for PC use. No software was provided with my joystick, further adding to the theory that I was sent a 'used' unit.
Onto the joystick itself. After some random fumbling with the Mode switch (no manual remember) I got it working with IL-2 on the XBox and was at first pleasently surprised. Having the throttle is excellent as I found I was accidentally adjusting the throttle when I used the normal gamepad. The stick itself seemed more natural. But then as I tried to line up on an enemy aircraft I spotted a massive flaw. The deadband is huge - that is you have to move the stick a long way from centre before anything happens. This means fine adjustments are very difficult and I find myself continually overshooting where I am trying to place my crosshairs and when I try to correct I overshoot the other way. I find the fine control needed to shoot down an evading enemy is much easier with a normal gamepad.
So if it weren't for the deadband I would have given it 5 stars, even with the suspicion that I have receiced a 'used' unit which is missing some bits.
As it is I'm considering returning it to Amazon as incomplete and unfit.
|
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à.r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. | | Gift Certificates | |
Untitled Document
|
|
|
| Twitter | |
Game Deals Twitter
|
|
|
| Game Deals Blog |
Game Deals Blog
Read Our Latest Review Here!
|
|
|
|
