E3 2009: Logitech
posted:
6/3/2009 12:56:00 AM
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E3 2009
While announced earlier in the day, I got an up close look at Logitech’s Flight System G940 today. This massive flight control setup will be something Dave Gamble drools over.
Each item in the setup feels really solid and looks to be able to stand up to a lot of punishment. Design wise, the flightstick, split throttle, and rudder pedals are based off authentic military and commercial plane designs. I’ll start off with the stick. It’s a force feedback stick with a real heavy base. There are holes in the base in case you want to attach the stick to a desk. There are three trim dials for you to finely tune the stick. All the buttons and hats you’ll ever need are layered throughout the stick. Even with my small hands, I felt comfortable holding it and could reach every switch and button with ease. The force feedback did great in both strong and subtle actions.
The split throttle also fit well in my left hand and the rotation of the throttle was smooth. Again, all the buttons and hats were easily accessible. The throttle easily changes from a single throttle to a dual throttle and vice versa with a push of a button. There are eight buttons that can illuminate red, green, amber, or off to give you indication of statuses. A neat feature is the ability to remove the cap and print out your own labels to be placed in there. This is a pretty cool level of customization to make the throttle be more useful to you. As with the stick, there are mounting holes in the base to let you attach the unit to a table.
I have the Saitek rudder pedals that give me problems with locking up when sliding them. The G940 set feels really heavy and uses a different mechanism to achieve the slide thus eliminating this problem Also, the pivot point is also up high giving you a more realistic feel. You can also adjust how much tension there is when you slide. For those that have the rudder pedals on carpet, you can pop out some grips on the bottom of the unit.
I came away mighty impressed with the feel of the G940. Everything felt very solid and the responsiveness was great in the games I tested the unit with. It’s an expensive item at $299.99 but for those that are serious about their flight sims, it will be worth it. Now if only Mechwarrior games were popular today, I’d definitely love to use this setup with that.
Each item in the setup feels really solid and looks to be able to stand up to a lot of punishment. Design wise, the flightstick, split throttle, and rudder pedals are based off authentic military and commercial plane designs. I’ll start off with the stick. It’s a force feedback stick with a real heavy base. There are holes in the base in case you want to attach the stick to a desk. There are three trim dials for you to finely tune the stick. All the buttons and hats you’ll ever need are layered throughout the stick. Even with my small hands, I felt comfortable holding it and could reach every switch and button with ease. The force feedback did great in both strong and subtle actions.
The split throttle also fit well in my left hand and the rotation of the throttle was smooth. Again, all the buttons and hats were easily accessible. The throttle easily changes from a single throttle to a dual throttle and vice versa with a push of a button. There are eight buttons that can illuminate red, green, amber, or off to give you indication of statuses. A neat feature is the ability to remove the cap and print out your own labels to be placed in there. This is a pretty cool level of customization to make the throttle be more useful to you. As with the stick, there are mounting holes in the base to let you attach the unit to a table.
I have the Saitek rudder pedals that give me problems with locking up when sliding them. The G940 set feels really heavy and uses a different mechanism to achieve the slide thus eliminating this problem Also, the pivot point is also up high giving you a more realistic feel. You can also adjust how much tension there is when you slide. For those that have the rudder pedals on carpet, you can pop out some grips on the bottom of the unit.
I came away mighty impressed with the feel of the G940. Everything felt very solid and the responsiveness was great in the games I tested the unit with. It’s an expensive item at $299.99 but for those that are serious about their flight sims, it will be worth it. Now if only Mechwarrior games were popular today, I’d definitely love to use this setup with that.
