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Saitek AV8R Retro Joystick (PC) | 
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| From: Saitek
Category: Video Games
List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £16.95
You Save: £8.04 (32%)
New (6) Used (1) from £16.95
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 490
Platform: Windows Xp
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 3 - 18 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 9.2 x 10.6
MPN: PS33
Model: PS33
UPC: 021165105973
EAN: 0021165105973
ASIN: B000I62PEK
Release Date: November 16, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
Worth every bit of the money. But with a 'but...' August 20, 2008
Steve
It is well worth the money as it has several toggle two way switches, other buttons and a hat-switch (8-way). Plus it has a good dual throttle function. It has a light-up missile switch and this joystick is incredibly easy to programme and install. It has a military design and is a perfect shape and is very light-weight. Now the 'BUT...'
The reason it is cheap is because it has cheap plastic so if you are looking for amazing materials look further up the price range. On the other hand this joystick still works fabulously. The missile switch is a bit gimmicky and the buttons are slightly flimsy and cheap looking but for this price the joystick is a bargain.
Problems i had: The 'universal' attachable wrist rest is very difficult to attach because the screws provided are not the best and the holes are not wide enough which ended up with me scewing them mostly in then securing it with two small pieces of duck tape on the underside.
Problem 2: The calibration is slightly out but recalibration of the axes is simple enough.
Best joystick I have used so far August 12, 2008
Kristian Nilssen (Scotland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have used many joysticks in the last 20 years or so. This is the best. The most important part of a joystick, in my opinion, is the response around the centre, when the stick is vertical. Many sticks are too loose around this area leading to drift and calibration problems. This stick has it spot on. My logitech wingman force 3d was terrible in this regard so I happily threw it away and tried the Saitek. Great. I am now an 'average' pilot in BF2 whereas before I was 'utter rubbish'. I can scream around a map at low level and not crash. Whoever said 'good tools does not a good worker make' never used this joystick. The throttle and twist work well and there are more than enough buttons to configure to your liking. I though it looked a bit cheesy from the images before I bought it but in real life it's no cheesy looking than any other stick. Size wise it's fine. The rectangular base means it's easier to store than most others these days. I don't like tall sticks and this one is ok. Overall it's great. Only used it for a few weeks and I hope it lasts. If it breaks within 18 months I will be rewriting this review. I hate stuff that breaks (Logitech, Microsoft).
Very good joystick May 16, 2008
BMW1349 (UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This joystick arrived earlier today, there aren't a lot of reviews for it so I'll write this one now and update it once i've had it a few months.
I bought this to use for teaching students how to fly light aircraft (such as Cessnas) using FS2004, so most of my comments are aimed at using it for FS2004, however a long time ago i used combat flight sims so i will comment slightly on its use for these purposes.
I bought this to replace my old 'Thrust Predator' which was cheap and did the job, but wasn't great for my purposes (would be great for a combat flight sim though). I have previously owned a Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro, an old Saitek Cyborg 3D, and many other cheap sticks - for FS2004 the AV8R is by far the best.
This is a fairly big joystick, but due to cheap plastic (as one would expect for the price) is quite light. Lacking any suckers on the bottom, it tends to move around a bit - a pain, but it's not the end of the world.
The stick doesn't feature any of the normal ergonomic shaping as almost all sticks have (Saiteks being the excpetion). You can fit a hand rest at the bottom with a couple of screws, but it doesn't fit very well and is unnecessary anyway. The straight up stick is far more realistic, and allows the pilot to fly using just a few fingers - as they would in real life, and allows pilots to fly with their left hand, again as they would in real life in a standard side-by-side seated aircraft. The realism is improved as the single spring gimbal mechanism makes the pressure very light, just as in a real light aircraft. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the pressure so those combat flight sim'ers wanting a lot more feel won't get what they want here. While the aileron and elevator movement is light, the pressure required for the ridder is greater, meaning that unlike other sticks, banking doesn't inadvertantly cause you to apply rudder (but the pressure isn't too much to make it difficult to use). Overall, the stick itself is great for people wanting accurate representation of a real light aircraft, but less so if you want to get into a dogfight.
The throttles are great. They have a very nice, smooth action, and can be joined together or seperated into 2 by clicking a button which extends/retracts a bar joining the two. Positioning them at the back isn't ideal, but they are still both easy to reach with either hand. I wanted to use one for throttle, and the other for the propeller RPM control. I had to search the internet a bit to figure out how to get the RPM control to work, and found then i needed to adjust the sensitivity as FS2004 default is to set 0% sensitivity.
The HAT switch is great, very light pressure required meaning that it is easy to look around while flying. 3 buttons on the top are fine. One of them has a red light inside, and a flip up cover (which can be removed). The light is a bit gimicky and a waste of time for me, but might be a bit of fun for combat sim'ers. The trigger is very sensitive and located well.
The switches on the bottom are great. I use them for trim and flaps amongst other things, but you could use them for anything. They are sprung to the middle and you click them up or down to use as 'buttons' (they don't stay in up/down positions, they spring back).
The stick comes with configuration software. I haven't tried using it (no need to really - it's plug and play), but when i do use the software i may gain a use for the 'mode' switch - like switching settings from those for light aircraft to fast jet.
My only concern is the slightly cheap feel. While the build is as one would expect for the price, I am expecting some of the switches to break at some point, and this would be a significant problem for enthusiastic simmers who might hit one a bit too hard.
Overall a fantastic stick for FS2004, the most realistic one available for less than 80 or so. For combat flight sims - very good and a few nice toys but (ironically considering it's clearly targetted at this market) not ideal, and I think there are better sticks out there for a similar price.
Brilliant January 19, 2008
G. Steel
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very cheap joy stick compared to others with same specification. Had for 9 months now, nothings gone wrong. Using it with FSX. Can really make use of the duel throttle! Not sure what the the point of the switch on the front is though?
Overal very good. Anyone looking for a good value joystick,
BUY THIS ONE!!!
brilliant September 18, 2007
U Dock (UK)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I bought this joystick with a copy of fsx deluxe and I've been very impressed with it. It's great for flight sims, reacts well, extremely easy to set up and use. It is alot bigger than it looks in the picture, it's a good size. There are actually three thumb buttons on the top and the 8 view hat switch, not just one.
I highly reccomend this stick for fs2004 and fsx, especially for the price.
-Fe
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