MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals!

[Ebs 114]

Just picked up these bad boys!

 

 

 

First of all, a little background...

 

A few years back, I had a set of CH Pedals. I used them for IL2 and WWIIOnline. I thought they were "OK", but too close together and a bit...clunky. Eventually I sold them and about 3 years ago I got heavily into DCS World (The A-10c to be specific) and I bought a set of Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals. I liked the size and width a lot better than the CH and they felt more substantial being metal pedals (went nice with my Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog ) but the downsides were they were freezing in the winter when flying in socks and again, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were...clunky. After about a year, I sold those too.

 

Around six months ago, I got back into simming (FSX) and while I still had my Warthog, I didn't have a set of pedals. I had planned to buy another set of Saitek Combats or Saitek Cessnas (being that the only difference is the pedals themselves.) until I came across the MFG Crosswinds. Admittedly, they aren't cheap (they cost as much as the Warthog) but I started to see rave reviews about them on various forums. I sent Milan (the guy who makes them in Croatia) an email and he told me he was back ordered until March 2015 but I could put my name down for a preorder. I'm not normally the patient type, but I wanted a set of Rudder Pedals of the same quality as the Warthog and something that would last me just as long.

 

After what seemed like an age of waiting, I got an email earlier this week to say my pedals were ready to be sent! I've literally just got back from picking the package up, assembled the pedals (a very easy and quick process) plugged them in, quick calibration and flew a circuit in the RealAir Turbine Duke V2.

 

I have to say, they're absolutely amazing. The build quality is great, there's a nice weight to them (I did a bit of research and discovered they're made from a material called HPL) and there are a ton of options for adjusting the spring tension, angle of the pedals, foot brake tension. There's also an option to swap out the 'cam profile' which affects how much of a centre detent you experience. I opted for CAM5 which is basically zero centre detent. They're incredibly smooth and no noise. And the 'clunkiness' of my previous pedals is completely eliminated from the Crosswinds. Apologies for the crappy cell-phone pics.

 

Milan mentioned a few months back that he may change the white colour to more of a grey but that he would create a small batch of pure white for anyone who wanted that option. So I got a set of the pure white ones...I just love that two tone white and black

 

I can't think why....

 

 

^_^

 

Feel free to ask me any questions!

 

 

[MarkDH 234]

Feel free to ask me any questions!

 

Have they made you fly better?! Seriously, I have been looking at these. I currently use Saitek 'Pro Flight' [sic] rudder pedals and they're okay but a bit notchy. I have a long history with the original CH (yoghurt-carton and bath-plug chain) pedals and then the Thrustmaster RCS pedals after that but it would be nice to get something a little more convincing. Actually I think a decent rudder control system needs some other kind of feedback to work in tandem - I lobbied A2A to build audio feedback for uncoordinated flight into AccuFeel 2 but they didn't listen :(.  (Some may recall my own experiments with uncoordinated flight...)

[Ebs 114]

"fly better" is pushing it a bit! I made the turns nice and coordinated in the Duke earlier. Previously I was using two buttons on the warthog throttle assigned to an axis to control rudder input, it wasn't ideal but better than nothing and I tried my best with coordinating turns. but as soon as I had the crosswinds in front of me, the turn was much more natural and it all came flooding back!

 

I'm on a bit of an NGX trip at the moment, so I just flew a short flight from Paris to amsterdam and it was the straightest take off I've ever done, taxiing is a breeze now!

Granted, if all you fly are airliners, the rudder is not such an essential piece of kit but I've been holding off getting back into helicopters without rudder pedals...I think it's time I checked out that Bell 407 for XPlane.

 

Nice setup in that video btw! I love how you've got the fans driven. very nice.

[megs8888 20]

I have my order in expecting them in June or July can't wait.

[MarkDH 234]

I tried my best with coordinating turns. but as soon as I had the crosswinds in front of me, the turn was much more natural and it all came flooding back!

 

In my own flying I have found that rudder use is a bit hit and miss except for crosswind approaches. In a crosswind approach there is a clear correlation between rudder inputs and what the aircraft does, and if you don't do it the aircraft doesn't fly straight. In general flying there is usually very little obvious need for the rudder - for example, flying the Aerosoft Twin Otter I can see a difference if I press it but I can't judge how mych to use without looking at the balance ball.

 

That said, I have recently started experimenting with flying the default glider and the adverse yaw is very obvious, which makes rudder input more of a requirement. In fact I wonder if it is worth tweaking the adverse yaw settings on other aircraft to make it more obvious.

 

Nice setup in that video btw! I love how you've got the fans driven. very nice.

 

That's a very old setup, you should check out my Twin Otter cockpit! No fans though, that idea wasn't very practical. I think audio feedback would be a good compromise - like a variometer for slipping/skidding. I have yet to have a go at implementing this.

[Blaze 102]

I have a set of MFG's and love them; one of the best pieces of harware I have!  I tell ya I was a little leery ordering them from overseas and all with respect to support and all but Milan (the owner/designer) has been incredibly responsive with my questions or concerns.

 

If you want a great set of pedals that smoke the plastic units out there but don't want to spend a fortune get these!

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

I'm on the brink, peering into the abyss! :blink:

 

EDIT: I like what I see!

 

Thank you for ordering MFG Crosswind rudder pedals.

 

[Blaze 102]

 

 

I have my order in expecting them in June or July can't wait.

 

It'll be worth it!

 

I'm on the brink, peering into the abyss! :blink:

 

EDIT: I like what I see!

Congrats Ron your gonna love 'em

 

I'm going to upgrade mine to the new MFG SiMM8Rge electronics when Milan has kits ready to sell,  Not that its needed, but if nothing more than for the more common USB cable connector,

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

I just heard from Milan, apparently I just squeezed in for a July delivery. August from now on. I told him to take on more staff. I think he has a winner on his hands.

 

One of my pet hates is the expression 'Can't wait' but I can't wait!

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

Another email telling me August now. It's good I'm one of nature's patient people. :rolleyes:

 

Hey Ebs, what is your opinion now you've lived with them for a couple of months?

[Blaze 102]

I just upgraded to the new electronics package (SIMM8Rge) over the weekend I think I'm the first other than Milan to do the upgrade, or so he say's.  Pretty straight forward and he made a nice YouTube video showing the steps.

 

I had a little trouble getting the new magnet orientation set right but it was just a matter of trial and error until I got it in tolerance.  Going to send Milan some feedback which might help anyone else (there's a washer in the kit not mentioned in the video and if you don't place it under the new nut with magnet the threads will be too long and will separate the two pieces) Took me most of the morning but it's worth it to me.

 

Had my set for about 2 years now and they still look like new and work great. I wasn't a big fan of the "wall spacers" I pulled them off and screwed the pedals straight down into a sub-floor to keep them from moving around.  Be careful about over-torquing the bolts;  I haven't stripped any out yet but it looks like it could be possible if you really over tightened them, something I tend to do.

 

I know there's no way I would ever go back to a pair of Saitek or any plastic pedals.  Possibly a PFC set but I can't justify the cost.  I have a PFC Saab desktop yoke and feel that my MFG pedals are absolutely on par with it;  even if they look like they would be more at home in an ME-109 than a jetliner.

 

Blaze

[Ebs 114]

Another email telling me August now. It's good I'm one of nature's patient people. :rolleyes:

 

Hey Ebs, what is your opinion now you've lived with them for a couple of months?

 

 

ouch, sorry to hear that Ron! They're more than worth the wait though!

 

What can I say? They're absolutely incredible. When I sit down and fire up a sim, the last thing I want to do is start adjusting hardware. I set the crosswinds up the day I started this thread and haven't needed to adjust them once. they're velcro'd to the floor and not going anywhere! The other piece of (almost) flawless hardware I have is the HOTAS Warthog that I picked up a couple of years ago in my "DCS days"

 

Before my current setup, I had Saitek X52 and Rudder Pedals and it felt like I was constantly fighting against them, the rudder pedals especially. Now when I sit down I've got the Warthog either side of me, TrackIR up top and the Crosswinds below me. They're like the final piece in the puzzle.

 

Hang in there Ron, not long now!

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

Mine arrived today at the very hour predicted! That was novel. :smile:

 

Unpacked them,(never seen such secure packing) screwed things on, set things up and flew. I LOVE the soft centred feel of them. What I mean is there is a centring but it's not a 'clunk'. The feel is indescribable. The quality oozes out of them. People that are happy with CH (I was) and Saitek have no idea of the difference.

 

One happy bunny. :wub:

[LittlePaulio 3]

Just ordered mine today! Should be ready in November, thankfully I am more than happy to wait for such a highly rated pair of pedals. I've never actually owned pedals, I use the Z axis on my Thrustmaster t.1600m along with a Saitek Pro yoke and quadrant (wish I could afford to upgrade those!) which is unwieldy and unrealistic to say the least. After doing  ALOT of research I luckily stumbled across this thread (I had never heard of MFG) and was almost immediately convinced. 

 

Granted, I'll have nothing to compare them too, but I reckon rather than forking out a couple of hundred on Saitek's or CH's various options before deciding to upgrade, I might as well opt for the high quality option right off the bat. Considering the prices of PFC level pedals they're actually astounding value on paper.

 

So thanks Ebs, Blaze and others for singing their praises, I can't wait for my early Christmas present now!

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

You are not going to be disappointed. In some ways it's a shame you haven't gone the CH/Saitek route. You missing out on the "My God! What a difference!" experience.