The Best Controllers for Microsoft Flight Simulator

Real pilots control a plane's throttle using a large sliding lever that makes it easier to quickly throttle up or down. That’s vital in air combat or aerobatics, where throttle control is as important as the stick to maneuvering. This is the idea behind the “hands-on throttle and stick” (HOTAS) approach of controllers like the Logitech G X52 Professional (Rating: 9/10, WIRED Recommends). 

It comes in two parts: a large, button-encrusted stick and an equally enbuttoned throttle slider. Typically, you use the stick with your right hand and the throttle with your left. The sliding throttle control definitely adds a lot to the experience. You really feel like you are getting things started when you slide the control forward and the engine starts to roar, and it feels much more natural to carefully throttle back when cruising or landing.

The entirety of the X52 is covered in buttons. There are six buttons, two hats, three toggle switches, and a dial on the stick, plus six buttons, four dials, two hats, and a small slider on the throttle. All of these are illuminated with LEDs, and there is also a safety cover that sits over the main weapons trigger on the stick. Flick the cover open and the trigger button underneath glows a frightening red.

That trigger might make it obvious that the X52 isn’t really about just flight simulation. It is just at home in air or space combat games like Elite: Dangerous that rely on flying skill and reactions to defeat those pesky aliens. These buttons are great for flight sims as well though. They are all assigned to essential controls by default in MFS, and you can reassign any of them. Even the trigger gets assigned to something: Flick open the cover and press the trigger (which usually fires a missile) and your autopilot is engaged. Pull the finger trigger on the back of the control stick (which usually fires a secondary weapon) and your view changes to the nearest point of interest—usually the airstrip you are trying to land on. With so many buttons at your disposal, you can handle an entire flight without using the keyboard.

All those buttons can be confusing though. The buttons are labeled, but these don’t correspond with the labels used in MFS. The big button on the top of the throttle slider, for instance, has a big “E” on it, but MFS calls it Joystick Button 8. It’s inconsistent and makes figuring things out harder. In one flight, I accidentally pressed one of the buttons on the throttle that turned the engine off right after takeoff and crashed just off the end of the runway. But at least with this setup, I can try to nail that takeoff again, which I probably wouldn’t be able to do with a real plane.

The cheapest option I looked at is the Logitech G 3D Extreme Pro joystick (Rating: 8/10, WIRED Recommends). This is a general-purpose joystick designed for gaming as well as flight simulators, but it includes one thing that makes it more suitable for flight sims than most: a slider control on the base that can be used as throttle control. Sure, it feels a little odd to be using a tiny slider to control the throttle of a 747, but it’s much better than hunting for F3 on a keyboard.

The joystick itself feels rather cheap. The handle has a nice shape, but the all-plastic construction doesn’t feel like it would stand up well to heavy use. It also had a habit of sliding around on my desk as I maneuvered: bigger rubber feet or suckers on the corners would have helped.

Still, there is no shortage of buttons: six on the base of the joystick, plus the slider control and an additional six on the stick itself. It also has a small hat control (a small finger-controlled joystick) that sits under the thumb, and which moves the pilot view around, so you can look out of the side windows. The buttons on the base are set by default to do things like control the flaps or switch between in-cockpit and external view, while the buttons on top of the joystick do things like control the brakes and change the view. The thumb button in particular resets the screen to the default view out of the front of the cockpit window. It's useful if you are admiring the landscape and suddenly realize that you are about to collide with it and need to quickly get back to controlling the plane.

The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight (Rating: 7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t a HOTAS in the strict sense of the word. It’s a HOTAY: Hands-on Throttle and Yoke. The VelocityOne includes four throttle controls, vernier levers, a control panel, and a small plane-style yoke. That means it looks roughly like the controls found on light propeller planes, but the system can be used in MFS to control anything from an ultralight craft to a larger jet. It works with both Windows PCs and the Xbox, and it integrates well with Microsoft Flight Simulator on both. You just install the Turtle Beach Control Center on your gaming machine, and the software handles the mapping of the numerous buttons to flight controls.

The yoke itself feels very solid, with a good level of resistance as you push, pull, and turn it. Although you aren’t going to get the same feel as a real control connected to a plane, it feels solid and tight enough that you instinctively use the light touch and small adjustments that flying needs.

A small screen and set of controls on the front of the yoke allow you to control the settings directly. You can switch from Xbox to PC mode, save profiles and button assignments, and run a clock to tell you how long you have been flying. There are no foot pedals, but a couple of index finger controls on the front of the yoke are assigned to the rudder, which is usually controlled by the feet in small planes. It’s a compromise, but it works well once you get used to it.

What you do get are a wide range of controls. There are over 40 separate customizable hat switches, levers, and buttons on this thing, including the 10 on a panel below the throttle axis. As well as a fold-out, stick-on-the-wall poster guide to the default assignments for all of them, the VelocityOne also comes with two sets of labels that can be stuck to the panel buttons. That’s a big help when you are getting started and navigating your way around: no more hunting for a certain control while getting ready to land. Two hat switches (the small finger-controlled joysticks on top of the yoke) control your view, so it is easy to glance out of the window and across the control panel without taking your hands off the yoke.

As well as these buttons, there is a matrix of 12 LED lights on the front panel that have swappable labels, so you can set up warning and status lights for things like parking brake status, engine fires, or a low-oil-pressure warning. That provides an extra level of realism, but many fliers will rely on the status lights and warnings in the onscreen instrument panel rather than glancing away from the screen. There is also a 3.5-mm headset socket, which means those who like to use a wired headset will have one less cable trailing from PC or Xbox to the controls. It’s also a definite plus for temporary setups and for flying in multiplayer mode, as it means fewer cables when using a headset.

There’s a lot to like about the VelocityOne. It has a great solid feel to the yoke and offers a veritable smorgasbord of customizable controls. It’s also adaptable: The inclusion of both a pull-knob-style throttle and a sliding lever means that it simulates the controls of both small propellor planes and jets. It’s a worthy investment for the serious flier who wants to get more into the realistic side of flight sims.

Once you’ve mastered the basics of flying the Cessna that MFS starts you in, you’ll want to take on something bigger. The flight sim offers a range of planes, including commercial airliners like the Airbus 320 Neo. That’s where the Thrustmaster TCA Officer Pack Airbus Edition (Rating: 7/10) comes in. The two-piece controller is styled like the actual instruments that pilots use on real Airbus planes. This pack includes the stick and throttle controls, but you can also add foot pedals and additional throttle controls for extra realism. The control stick offers 12 buttons along the base, plus buttons that can be fitted to either side of the joystick itself: an important option for southpaws, or for simulating the different layouts of the sticks on various real Airbus aircraft. Less authentically, you can add a trigger button to fire missiles at hostile Thargoids.

The throttle control has two sliders, but because Airbus airplanes are computer-controlled, the throttle works differently. It has several indents that denote the locking positions used in different flight modes. To take off, you set it to TO/GA (Take Off/Go Around) for maximum thrust. While climbing, you set it to CL (Climb). While cruising along, you set it to A/THR (Auto-Thrust), set a speed in the FCU (Flight Control Unit) on the dash, and the computer adjusts the engines to smoothly reach the correct speed. The locking positions can be disabled so it slides like a normal throttle control, which makes it usable with other planes that don't have this level of computerized pilot assistance.

The throttle control also includes one thing that many flight sim throttles don’t have: a flight reverser control. When a real pilot lands a commercial aircraft, they engage a thrust reverser that redirects the thrust of the engines forward to slow down. There will usually be a dedicated control for this on the throttle. The TCA Airbus includes this: By pulling up two levers on the front of the slider and moving the throttle fully back, the thrust reverser is engaged to bring you to a stop on the runway.

As you may have guessed by now, the TCA Airbus is designed to work best with Airbus aircraft, and it does a great job of this, adding a new level of realism for those who want it. However, this makes it less suitable for other planes and games. A more generic control set might be a better pick for gamers and casual fliers.

The two hundred bucks you’ll lay out for the Thrustmaster Flight Kit X (Rating: 8/10, WIRED Recommends) make it seem like it's not really a budget option, but you do get a lot for the money. The full-featured set of flight controls includes a decent joystick, a button-encrusted throttle control, and a set of foot pedals—a big step up from the modified joystick that most devices at this price are built around.

The Flight Kit X is a full HOTAS setup. It is mainly designed, as the name suggests, for use with the Xbox, so the button labels are marked with the label letters from a typical Xbox controller. It works right out of the box with the Xbox, but it also works with Windows PCs at the flick of a switch (on the back of the joystick) and the installation of drivers and utility software.

The Joystick has a light, springy feel that doesn’t require much effort to move but returns to the center naturally. The resistance can be adjusted, but even at the highest setting, it still has a pretty light touch. The throttle has an equally light feel, which can’t be adjusted; you don’t get a feeling of resistance when you gun the engines for takeoff. It feels comfortable though, and a rocker control on the back works as a trim wheel to adjust the neutral position of the joystick in flight. The joystick and throttle can either be fixed together or used separately with a fixed proprietary cable running between them. That makes the setup more flexible for left- or right-handed pilots, and means it can be used on the lap for casual flying with a living room Xbox setup.

The rudders share the rather light feel of the other parts, with the footpads sliding to control the rudder: slide the left foot and the plane slips to the right as the rudder turns. That’s a nice touch that again adds to the realistic feel of the controls, although the pedals slide a bit too easily.

The light construction of all of the Thrustmaster Flight X’s parts and their light touch mean that you don’t get as realistic a feel as you do with pricier options. However, you do get the full set of controls, which is a big plus for those who want to simulate the real thing on a limited budget.