So I just bought a Saitek X52 Proand I've been using it in a couple PC games, just to get a feel for it. It's my first experience with a HOTAS (Hands-On Throttle And Stick) setup ever.

It's pretty great in DCS A-10 Warthog, where the extra buttons and, well, a throttle dramatically improve how well I've been able to handle the aircraft. I still don't have pedals, but honestly, the stick can twist so it seems to work out fine. This revolutionizes how I play the game.

In Battlefield 3, however, I have a really hard time dogfighting with this setup. There seems to be a fair amount of deadzone - either on the stick or software end - and the throttle really doesn't control speed as well as I'd like. In many ways I was doing better with my old Logitech Attack 3, a much cheaper stick.

In MechWarrior Online (beta), this setup is fun but from a practical perspective I'm just not sure how effective it is. Sticks aren't well supported yet and this aspect might never get improved, meaning a mouse is still a superior choice for MWO. The X52 Pro may be a little over the top for this game, although not as much as BF3, as I can at least find a use for most of the buttons.

Now this setup is pretty much middle of the road... $175 in a field where setups can go from $50 to almost $500. I got two weeks to return this thing if I don't like it; anyone else able to offer some insight onto the HOTAS topic? Which one do you use, and how has it worked for your games? I really like this thing in concept, and mechanically the X52 Pro is mostly okay (a little throttle creak, but that's minor), but for nearly two hundred bucks I'm just wondering if its the right choice out there. Thanks in advance.

I've never even considered buying such a setup. Mainly because I've played like 2-3 flight sims and that's about it. I'm interested however in how it works in BF3. You play with keyboard and mouse and when you enter an aircraft you grab the stick?
 
On-topic: I once had tried playing with one of these and I also noticed the deadzone. Don't think it's a software issue, althought it can be fixed by installing some software (whose name I can't recall).

That thing would be pretty baller in ArmA2