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Here we go again, a non program based review. Why? Well the fairly heavy clue is in the title. Yup, another box of very clever tricks on offer to make our journey that much realistic. I have to say I love the offerings thus far from Saitek. OK, not all perfect, in some areas, as I have commented upon in my previous reviews, BUT and it is a BIG but, the points raised as areas of possible improvement are very minor, and does not detract from the overall quality and effectiveness of the hardware.
I fully appreciate the price tag on these various Pro Flight Panels may be on the high side. But, you know there is an adage; and it goes, "If you want quality you have to be expected to pay for it".
I must also say there other manufacturers who produce very similar units, and in fairness, I have not reviewed these, so I will not say these are the very best on the market, but equally you will have to go some way to better the Saitek offerings. Not only do they look the part, they function as intended... Need I say more? (My personal opinion of course...)
My small 'bank' of instruments look very smart nestling under my monitor. I smile every time I switch on FSX, all the LEDs come alive, and really looks very smart indeed.
I do not have the Flight Yoke, I use the X-52 Pro joystick/throttle units, which I adore, and given me years of trouble free service. If I did have the yoke, the Pro Flight switch panels are designed to fit onto it. If you buy all the offerings, there is quite a collection of switches and dials on top of the yoke unit. I am sure great to use, but for me, it would look a tad busy. I have two panels affixed to my desk with the use of Velcro provided, under my monitor and works brilliantly. And let's be honest looks, well, business like.
Quite amusingly, when visiting friends see the array, they are all very impressed by the professional looking collection, especially if one does not know what Nav1 Coms 1 ADF or DME AP Auto Throttle Pitch Trim mean (all being on display on the two units on show).
However, I will not tell you what my wife says at my Saitek ensemble!
Almost ripping the covering off the new delivery presented another box, showing the product clearly on the front. Lovely use of spot UV varnish on the pictures that add a gloss to the product's pictures; actually the package feels of real quality. If you are very lucky to have purchased the other panels on offer, the packaging looks very similar. Not exactly surprising I guess. The packaging uniformity creates a sense of the Pro Flight family.
Opening the box, there is a large inner container with an expanded black dense foam holder, and with the instrument sitting snugly in it. You will find a small CD-ROM (drivers), a great Users Guide and the obligatory USB connecting cable, and a number of knurled topped screws and Velcro. You can use these to attach the unit to the Saitek yoke, or to other Saitek Pro Panels, or indeed stand alone. I have my new multi-panel physically attached to the coms panel. These fit very snugly under my Dell monitor.
The unit itself exudes quality, and you realise this is a fine high tech piece of equipment. It has a protective plastic film on the screen which you remove before use.
Looking at the front of the panel. On the left hand side there is 1 twist 5 function switch, allowing for ALT, VS, IAS, HDG, CRS. Mid panel there is a large screen displaying the LED numbers, and let me tell you, they are superbly displayed, tremendous clarity.
Under the screen, you have a master AP button. When selected, by pressing it, it illuminates white once selected. To the right, 7 orange buttons, having HDG, NAV, IAS, ALT, VS, APR, REV; any of these selected glow orange.
To make the digits selection, to the right of the screen, there is a knurled knob, with a smooth action allowing for easy digit selection (+-)
Still to the right, there can be found an AUTO-THROTTLE toggle switch witch has OFF & ARM options. Below that a FLAPS rocker switch, allowing for UP & DN inputs. To the extreme right, there is a ROTORY PITCH TRIM wheel; this has some nice resistance, making the action purposeful.
There we have it, the description. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, and pretty obviously the unit is exactly the same dimensions as the other Pro Panels on offer. This commonality allows the owner to join them together in a uniform manner. The plastic frame included allows for a raked back view, which is excellent, so it can still be used as a stand-alone item.
And VERY handsome they look too.
What the box says:
The CD-ROM enclosed must be installed, BEFORE connecting the unit for the instruments. The process is pretty straight forward. However, as I have installed the drivers for the other Coms Pro Panel the drivers activated the new unit.
Having installed the software for the previous Pro Panel, I plugged the cables into a spare USB port. Wow, my spare USB ports are getting ever more sparse. In fact I had to go out and buy a new USB hub to accommodate my new purchase! At least it is not a computer upgrade! (Yet! Go on own up, how many times have told your wife/boyfriend, you need to get a computer upgrade, because, well just because... The real reason the Flight Simulator demands even more processing power!?)
I fired up FSX, and waited. I have noticed in fact when I switch on my computer the units activate with the various lighting coming to life, on all both panels actually, and looks great!
Once you have made your airport selection, the coms radio panel auto populates the active frequency--nice.
On the active runway, and in the default Airbus, made the necessary adjustments to the heading (HDG), i.e., the runway heading, altitude (ALT) in my case I selected 5000 feet, then selected the rate of climb via the (VS). Be careful here guys not too a high a number, otherwise at take off your passengers will voice their displeasure as you ascend at 90%. Not good... The indicated airspeed was adjusted to say 240 Knots (IAS).
Flaps selected via the flick switch, one hit (downwards) provided me with 15% down flap. Armed the auto throttle via the toggle switch, hit the auto pilot button (AP) as well as the heading (HDG). Indicated air speed (IAS) buttons selected, almost immediately the Airbus started its take-off run. Hitting the Rotate speed, she majestically took to the skies. Gear up, let the speed build, flaps retracted. I tried the PITCH TRIM rotary button, but I was having to put in extreme inputs. I guess either I have not set it up, or have not gotten used to this way of adjusting the trim.
As I climbed, I was informed via the air traffic controller, via Squawkbox (real time interactive ATC) to change controllers. This was done with ease via the Pro-Coms panel. I had logged a flight plan, and was given new vectors, and increase in height. Here we go, I thought, my panel is designed for this function, so new heading selected via the rotary knob and she turned. Increase in height, after selecting the ALT heading, she too increased in ascent with auto throttle kicking in increasing the thrust in the climb. In the descent the throttles will reduce. I found the use of great benefit, and the major issue for me was the clarity of use.
I have to say there really is very little more I can say about this incredible piece of kit, I simply love it! OK, if I was pushed, I could become a tad 'picky' about the rotary switch for the frequency change, when I was trying to change very small decimal point changes, on occasion, I had to 'fiddle' to get the exact frequency as it had a tendency to go over or under the intended number. This is NOT a negative point, but merely an observation.
OK, the pitch trim, did not perform too well for me, I resorted back to the keys I had allocated on the X-52, again, no great shakes, probably just a setup issue.
Let me tell you, with my current set up of the two Pro Panels now in use, the coms, and this new one dealing with the auto pilot functions, represent a completely new and ever more accurate experience of flying our aircraft in the virtual skies.
The ease of which you can make these critical adjustments in flight are excellent. No more zooming in to the panel to make adjustment, the critical ones can be made with ease and accuracy, dare I say it "just like the real thing". There we go I just have! Bit of a cliche' I know who cares...
I have tried this system out on non-default aircraft and for me it functions perfectly, but obviously, I cannot guarantee it will function across the entire additional aircraft range.
Can't wait to see what is next?
Tested for approximately 4 hours (FSX).
Works with Microsoft Flight Simulator X and 2004
Compatible: Windows XP/XP64 and Vista
Connectivity: USB 1.1/2.0
Works with: Windows XP, XP64 and Vista (all versions), Windows 7
System used:
Microsoft Vista Ultimate
AMD Phenom 9950 Quad Core
2.60 GHz
2 GB RAM
Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX
G-Force 9500GT
Onwards and Upwards
Nigel C. Martin
n.c.martin@btinternet.com
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