Gaming Peripherals Round Up

Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals

What has always amazed me is the passion and community that surrounds Microsoft Flight Simulator X. For a few years now I have accepted that my mind wasn't designed to fully appreciate the Flight Simulator games, that my natural instinct, upon getting into a simulated plane, is to try and perform stunts and then (hopefully) crash.

I do know, however, that some people love the Flight Simulator series. How else would one single game have spawned such expensive peripherals? People want to feel like they are flying real planes and helicopters and to create that enveloping experience a gamer needs the right tools. Proper flight yokes is one option and another is a set of the recently released Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the look of the Pro Flight Rudder Pedals. The large set consists of two movable pedals, which can tip backwards and forwards as well as slide up and down. In the centre there's an adjustable dial which allows you to adjust the tension of the pedals so that it feels comfortable depending on your calf strength. It also comes with two extended foot pedals in case you want that extra support for your feet.

The foot pedals were relatively easy to get working in Flight Simulator, and by that I mean functioning. I struggled however to control my plane with them and felt myself yearning to feel the flight stick in my hand. I decide to consult bit-tech's Tim Smalley, our resident trained pilot, to explain to me how the rudder pedals should be utilised.


He explained to me that when I flew without the rudder pedals my turning wasn't smooth and my flying not fuel efficient. With the rudder pedals not only can you tip your wings but also use the rudder to turn the plan into the turns. This makes turning the plane a smoother experience. However, there is a problem. When banking a plane you don't really want to exceed an angle of thirty degrees, and the only way you would know that is through a force feedback joystick. In our set up (using the barebones Cyborg Evo) we weren't able to gauge our turn and as such that nullified the effectiveness of the rudder pedals.

The moral of the story here is that the rudder pedals will enhance your experience of Flight Simulator and that they are relatively easy to set up (simply plug in, install drivers and Flight Simulator X will recognise them). However, if you're going to make that step up and spend nearly £100 on a piece of kit you have to make sure your other kit is already in place. A product only suited to the most hardcore flight sim addicts and only suitable if you have the resources to buy all of the necessary kit!