If you can afford the HOTAS Warthog, you shouldn't think twice about grabbing it. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but the X-55 has clearly been made for those who want a serious flight-controller but can't stretch to the incredibly high price of the Thrustmaster. The X-55 Rhino is a close approximation of the Warthog in fact, it's almost as if their designers were sitting side-by-side at the drawing board. But it's definitely playing second fiddle to the Thrustmaster Warthog. The reason we're likening it to the Saitek X-55 Rhino is simple: that is the best of the rest of the flightstick brigade and is a good way ahead of its competition. It feels mightily robust, and has the build quality to match. That's all thanks to the sheer amount metal Thrustmaster has used in the construction of both throttle and stick it might well have you reinforcing your desk, if not the floor it sits on. The difference in weight between the Thrustmaster Warthog and the X-55 Rhino is incredible. It's incredibly faithful, and hence there is no twist to the stick. This lack of functionality is all down to the basis for the Warthog's design – namely the titular aircraft upon whose controls this stick has been based. There's even a little analog joystick on the front of the throttle that makes a good rudder control. There's a host of different toggle, rotational, hat and three-way switches to make up for that slight shortfall in operation. The X-55 has a twist axis in the joystick that allows you to use it as the yaw/rudder control – with the Warthog you have to assign that elsewhere. There is one thing missing from the Warthog's joystick, and that's the Z-axis rotation. There isn't the same adjustment available to the joystick itself though (points to the Saitek X-55 Rhino for providing different resistance via the replaceable springs), but that doesn't really matter because it moves reliably and smoothly in all angles of attack. The action on that throttle is beautiful, and if you don't agree you can tailor it to your liking using the on-the-fly resistance adjustment. And their reaction? Without exception it's been an almost post-orgasmic sigh.
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