Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 34
 Excellent stick for the money January 1, 2007
Rene S. Hoepelman Jr. (Cary, NC)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
I just bought this a few days ago and I am very pleased. Works great with Blazing Angels: Squadr WWII PC once you get the joystick mapped to the keyboard. The mapping software is fairly simple. You can switch between differnt setups with the A/B switch with is a very nice feature.
Has twist for yaw built into the handle and 8 position pov. Duel throttle is nice but I dont believe they can work independant. I have to play around with it some more. Plenty of extra buttons and toggles to program.
I always liked Saitek because they make joysticks that can be configured for us Lefty's. This joystick works for both left and right handers out of the box. The joystick has all the features of some of the more expensive joysticks, but 1/2 the cost.
Perfect for Flight Simulator 2004 !! October 22, 2006
Nero Wolfe (Ft. Worth ,TX)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
After having a bad experience with the Logitech Extreme Pro 3D joystick (see my review) I purchased this one and WOW what a difference. Worked perfectly right out of the box and some of the switches are already set up for flaps etc. without loading the software ! In fact I never intend to load the software because Microsoft recommends against it. Why mess up a good thing ? Saitek Rocks !!
One of the better joysticks out there that you can find January 20, 2007
Mac Chin (Virginia, USA)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
I recently got back into flight simming when I borrowed my brother's Jane's F/A-18 game. I've always been a fan of the Jane's games, but never had the appropriate equipment. Eager to play, I tried a gamepad as well as an old Logitech Force Feedback Wingman. The latter had way too much dead space and a poorly designed rubbery boot to protect the base of the stick. I also have never been a fan of the force feedback either. So that left me with either the mucho expensivo HOTAS sticks from CH or Thrustmaster or a middle of the road joystick from Saitek.
The Saitek Aviator is a moderately priced, combat themed joystick that has a plethora of buttons and a dual throttle to boot. The missile launch button illuminates red so you'll never forget which button to release hell. It also has a safety cover. The best part of the joystick was the little to none deadspace. The stick is kept taught by a coiled steel spring and has a dust cover to protect dust from entering the pivot ball.
The only cons I have noticed is that the Aviator is a bit on the light side and maybe could use another POV hat, but can't really expect much for the low price.
All in all, a decent stick for a great price, you won't be disappointed.
Update after using it for 3 months:
The joystick is still responsive although it is not as tight as when I first got it. Highly recommended for the casual simmer.
Works great with x-plane on a mac December 6, 2007
S. Flaherty (Nevada)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I bought this for my son, who has a new macbook with x-plane installed. We couldn't get other joysticks to work, but this worked perfectly. All the buttons and switches were easily programmed in the x-=plane program. A great joystick for the money.
Great stick for IL-2! March 27, 2007
D. Todd
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
For less than $40, its hard to go wrong with this choice. I've had the stick for almost a year now (updated Feb. 08), with no problems what-so-ever. I was concerned about the weight, but the base is heavy enough to keep the stick from sliding while flying IL-2. I fly with full realism settings, so it so doesn't pay to jerk the stick around quickly anyway. If you want to fly arcade style, then the settings are easily changed.
Its easy to program. Addition to having the trigger & 3 buttons on the stick to program, there are four "toggles" to program 2 functions each if wanted. All of the controls can be assigned new functions by switching the mode selector to another mode (OFF, A or B). The toggles alone give 24 functions! The 2 "throttles" are handy. Right now, I have one throttle set for "throttle" and one for the flaps on a I-16, Type 18 fighter. With the correct "in-game" settings it works great. If your not sure that you want to spend $150+ on a new HOSTAS, the high number of programming options make the AV8R a great alternative.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 34
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