Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals

Pro-Flight Rudder pedals: Major Benefits For Flight Simming.

• Solidly constructed 3-axis pedals maximise flightsim realism by enabling foot control of the rudder function.

• Silent, smooth action for optimum control and precision.Self-centering pedals with adjustable damping.

• Foot rests adjust to fit all sizes and include non-slip materials.

• Precise rudder and braking control.Tension adjustment - choose resistance to suit the way you fly.High quality, part metal construction for long life.

Saitek Pro Foot Pedals Review on FSPilot

With such an investment you will want it land on the door step in one piece. Well I have to say I was immensely impressed with the packaging.

Knife in hand, a signature, and hew presto it was mine. With careful use of a knife the boxes where opened and there they were...Be careful to seek out all the wires and instruction manuals, or quick start guide, which I must stress, you MUST take time to read. Once you lift the box which contains the pedals, you realise that these will be well, substantial, and certainly not light. As the pictures show you get quite an array of content.

The usual CD housing the drivers, the foot pedals some plastic extensions to the front of the unit providing more stability, well actually they are called boot rests (these are removable) and self-adhesive Velcro strips for those who are expecting some seriously rough flying conditions!

With each pedal adjusted to best suite my foot (lengthen the pedal, 3 stages provided) and the correct tension for my liking (rotating a central placed knob turning it clockwise increases tension, i.e., resistance of the pedal movement, a very nice touch which really works) I was ready!

How many times have you heard this one...read the instructions first, they are clear and concise. An important point here, Siatek have already configured the settings for a vast range of flightsims, i.e., Flight Simulator, IL2, etc.

Installation

As you would expect, an installation disc, connection into a spare USB port, install the drivers, and the SST are programming option (optional), follow 7 simple steps and within 5 minutes all done. To confirm power is active, a small green LED to the front of the unit illuminates.

I did not experience any issue at all in this process.

Use

So we are connected, the system checked for movement left and right. Movement works, the toe brakes operate, so let's fire up FS2004. Reading the instructions we can configure the pedals very easily (found on page 2/3 of the instruction manual).

This simple procedure done, let's test the unit.

For the first flight utilising the newly installed pedals I selected the wonderful F-16 from IBIS.

Starting "wet and hot" I checked for movement. Nice travel on the pedals, tension about right; this was increased with a simple turn clockwise on the tensioning knob located in the centre of the unit.

A quick external view confirmed movement of the rudder. I noticed that differential braking is easy to use as well as conventional braking. When applying both toe brakes, conventional brakes were applied.

Taxiing was easy, with an accurate feel using the pedals. All lined up, throttle to full military power (I selected some nasty side winds), input of rudder on the roll to me true, up and away.

In-flight, the rudder becomes second nature very quickly. Nice inputs; I did find the travel to get full left/right a little too much. I would have preferred a little more travel sensitive, but it was not a major issue. Using the rudder on approach, some nice sideslip being applied, via my rudder pedals provided me with a far more realistic experience, than using my previous joy stick twist rudder. It truly is a great add-on.