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Article
by R. Rios
 Saitek, the makers of some of the finest joysticks in the world, now adds another fine HOTAS to their stable of excellence; The Saitek X52 HOTAS.
From the time you get the box, the first impression you get is that this is a new breed of professional looking products that follows its sibling, the X45. The X52's box graphics / artwork are excellent with raised portions to indicate feature areas on the controllers.
The pictures show the suction cups that are supplied, yet optional to install if the end-user feels they need to prevent any sliding on the desktop. The cord that is supplied to join the two sticks appears to be an s-video style connector, which is a great departure from the large serial connector they used for the X36 and X45 style HOTAS in the past. The stick has a nice touch with brushed aluminum and flat black accents. The trigger and pinkie switch are made of metal for durability and have a great feel. The pinkie switch on the X52 and hand rest flange are now adjustable, with 5 positions. The default position is in its lowest state. This is done via an adjustable knob on the front of the finger guard on the flight stick. Both grips have a hard rubber surface in the hand contact areas, for increased grip and feel. In a departure from the X36 and X45, the X52 no longer has a paddle-type switch for the rudder function on the underside of the throttle grip. The X52 now sports the twist-grip feature of the main stick for the rudder function. For those flight enthusiasts that wish to add rudder pedals to their configuration for flight, the X52 has a pull-out switch that "locks" the stick from performing the rotational function. This switch is located at the base of the main stick, right above the pivot spring.
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