Customer Reviews

Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

As someone new to flight simulators, these were the first rudder pedals I have ever used. My general impression is that they work well but their flimsy construction is disconcerting. As I haven't ever used CH pedals, it is difficult to assess what would be considered sturdy for a consumer product like this. However, the Saitek pedals feel as if they would be damaged by putting any amount of weight on the pedal surface. Not only is the plastic rather thin but the whole apparatus is extremely light. Saitek should have used some inexpensive ballast to rectify the latter problem.

Unfortunately, the light weight means they are not stable when used straight out of the box. With several through holes, the designers are probably suggesting the user mount the base to a heavier object. To use them on carpet, I took a different approach. In each of the eight holes, I mounted a set screw with a flat machined end. These were adjusted with a nut and large washer (for weight distribution) to allow a 3/8" elevation. The screws will penetrate the pile and resist any forward movement. To increase the effect, I attached eight, one pound lead ingots with double-sided tape to the base. This arrangement provides a very stable platform.

In my ten hours of Flight Simulator X, I haven't found any problems with pedals. However, I did observe some minor flutter on occasion when using the Saitek diagnostic software. It generally goes away after some movement.

Despite concerns over the construction, the pedals have some nice features. There is an adjustable tension knob in the center of the pedals. In addition, the pedal surface is adjustable for different shoe sizes.

In general, the Saitek Pro Flight Rudder pedals work well and look nice. It would just be more comforting if Saitek used a few more millimeters of plastic on the pedals and base.


Pros
Accuracy
Easy to setup
Features (tension knob and adjustable pedal surface)


Cons
Flimsy
Some flutter
Too light

After learning the "hard" way, the Rudder Pedals work Great! First (and very importantly) do NOT try to assign any functions to the pedals using your feet! After plugging in the USB connection put them on a flat surface and use your hands when moving the pedals to assign the right and left "Differential Brake" functions, then again using your hands, assign the "Rudder Axis" function.
Secondly, do not get overly exuburent when imputing the right or left "Rudder", if you hit the stops "firmly" the pedals will LOCK-UP! You will then have to remove 20 screws, and carefully re-align the pedals so they "unlock", then have to reinstall the 20 screws! Trust me, I've done it three times (greatly increasing my "expletive deleted" vocabulary in the process!) In spite of the above, they work well. I am a retired corporate pilot and use my flight sim to practice instrument procedures.

I won a set of these at the International Flight Sim Convention in Denver this summer. They beat my CH USB Pro pedals hands down. These don't over draw the power on my USB hub like the CH did. I highly recommend them.

I've had the same problem as the reviewer below. Toe brakes will be indicated as half-depressed when there is no pressure on them. This will cause these rudder pedals to be useless and you'll be forced to return them for a refund. Go with CH rudder pedals, that's what I did after experiencing inexcusable problems with these.

These pedals do not work on some PCs. When you go to the calibrate window and click the properties button it takes you to the window that shows the function of the pedals. Normally, there should not be any red bars showing for the "brake" function, but mine showed "half brake" application without any deflection of the pedals. If I barely touched the pedals the red bars go away and all looks fine, but not so. Apparently, this half-brake condition exists whenever you boot up any sim program, and the brakes on any plane are applied half way all the time. I found that applying full brakes on these pedals would actually release the brakes on the plane and let me take off, but when you land, the brakes are already half on and no way to increase them!
Saitek felt it was a mechanical hardware problem, so I sent them back to Saitek for evaluation. They sent me a whole new set. Same problem. The tech told me it was just the way they were designed and they couldn't do anything about it. What!?!?!? Also, they said I will have to return them to place of purchase for a refund, but Amazon has a 30 day limit on returns and Saitek took four weeks to send them back to me, so I am way out of the 30 day limit.
I tried these on a Toshiba Sattelite laptop, and a Gateway desktop PC, both with very good video cards. Same problem on each machine.
Saitek obviously has a problem with these pedals that they won't support, so beware.
I also have a set of CH pedals and I like them much better anyway!

One again another faulty product by Saitek. The pedals will constantly get stuck and the only way to fix it is to the open up the unit itself. One look at the Saitek's official forums proves that this problem is widespread with Saitek having no intentions on fixing them. In my opinion, Saitek is finished as a company. I'm returning these and getting my self the CH pedals instead.

It took me a while to figure out the 'brake' problem with Microsoft Flight Simulator X. One has to 'reverse' each of the brake axes, put the 'sensitivity' to the maximum (rightmost) and the 'null' zone to 0 (leftmost). Otherwise, as a pilot who flies real single engine airplanes, I can say this is a great complement to any HOTAS. Your flight experience cannot be complete without it (especially for taildraggers). I use those with a Saitek X45.

The track mechanisms need to be reinforced.I had the linkage come apart inside.Keep in mind that the warranty is void if you decide to tinker with them. What i did was reinforce the tracks with fiberglass strips used to make printed circuit boards. On one side i glued 2 strips together, and 1 on the other.I attached these strips to the screw posts.The strips will flex enough without too much strain on the interconnecting pedal linkage.I greased the tracks with non volatile grease, plus made up 2 weights from lead so the pedals do not drift on the floor.These pedals work fantastic now.!!!!!!These pedals work real good with X-plane with no brake problems in Windows software.

Allright. I heard about the sticking problem and true to my nature decided on the gool old pre-emptive strike to solve my problems. So I fabbed up a set of stopps. Screwed everything down to a chunk of 3/4" plywood, added a couple pieces of dowel rod with some rubber caps on the end to keep the pedals fended off from the wall and stable,(No movement at all across the floor) and voila...they work great. The plywood stiffens up the whole assembly with is a little flimsey for my comfort, and the stopps keep the pedals from traveling their full length of travel. Now hamfootedness is no problem. I idiot proofed the whole rig. The pedals cant get stuck if they can't get past 1/2" south of the sticking place. Got 5 images uploaded on the product information page that show how do do your own. The concept is pretty simple. Get a set of 3" L brackets. Drill the top hole out to 5/16. Put a rubber cap over the end of the carriage bolt, and bolt it to the L bracket. Attach the whole mess to an appropriatly cut piece of 3/4 plywood, and no sticking problem. These things work great. Much fun taxiing around now. Crosswind landings are doable. A twisty stick just doesnt provide the accuracy for precision flying. The CH pedals are just too damned buttugly to put under my rig, so I had to figure out how to make these Saitek pedals work. That, and these things have toe brakes! Something more to figure out how to SWAG. Too much fun for words.

I'm using MSFS 2004 and have had no problem with these pedals. The action is very similar to real airplanes. I did have some brake problems at first but once I changed settings in MSFS 2004 all was fine. My computer is against a wall so I put a wide board (piece of shelf material) on the floor against the wall and the rudders in front of that. So I can push as hard on the rudder pedals as I want.

So for me. Works great no problems.