Insert the CD, press ok a few times, make a cup of coffee and return to your installed Saitek X52. Done.
The first thing you notice is the X52 flight control system is very pretty. Once the Saitek x52 is powered up, all those blue LEDs and the backlit LCD screen make the controller a very sexy piece of kit.
I load up Falcon 4, go into the setup screen, point the setup at the Saitek X52's. To my surprise most of the x52's buttons are recognised as DirectX buttons! It doesn't make too much difference, because Falcon is too complex and without programing, the Saitek X52's buttons are largely useless.
The X52's flight stick is gorgeous. The flight controller is light and nimble with very low resistance. This has it's pros and cons making it easy to make small adjustments to your flight but it's also easy to overuse the flight stick and end up barrel-rolling to your doom.
The X52's rudder control is a twist grip. If you have rudder pedals the twist function can be stopped by pulling out a plastic tab at the base of the stick which locks it and stops it from rotating.
Both the Saitek X52's pinkie switch and the trigger are metal. The primary trigger is a two-stage switch. I was fairly surpised that it wasn't easy to accidently get to the second stage of the trigger. In my first profile I set the trigger up to assign a target at stage one, and fire the 20mm at stage two. I didn't once fire accidently when targeting. Nicely done.
The downside to the X52 Flight Control System is that the stick is too big for my hand. It is adjustable in terms of where the handrest sits (a thumbscrew allows you to raise the hand-rest up or down, taking the pinky switch with it). However, I found that if I had the hand-rest in it's highest position (which was the best place for my thumb to reach the buttons on the top of the stick) I didn't have room between the pinky switch and the trigger for my other fingers :(
There are no adjustments for the throttle. It feels a little big for my hand, but I'll just have to live with that.
The X52's throttle was real nice for gaming. The X52's throttle has detents for idle and afterburner/mil power setting and adjustable tension on the throttle arm itself. You can slacken it off or tighten it up according to your preference simply by using a thumbscrew. Tightening it up is when you discover why Saitek supplied you with the suction cups. If you push hard either forward or backward you'll rock the throttle off balance. The same goes for the x52's stick. Neither of the X52's control devices have the weight, balance or stability you'd like.
But that's nothing a couple of screws couldn't solve -- bolt the whole thing to your seat/desk. Both the throttle and stick have holes drilled through their base just for this purpose.
Other than the balance and sensitivity of the X52 flight control stick/throttle, I must say I was impressed with my first flight. It was a lot easier to control the F-16 with the Saitek X52 Flight Control System and it gave for a much more immersive experience.
The real reason I got the Saitek X52 Flight Control System was for all the buttons, rotaries, hats and other stuff it has. Time to program and see what this puppy can really do...
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