Force Feedback Joystick and FS2004

I really dig my Microsoft Force Feeback 2 joystick. The forces work really well with FS2004! It puts you that much more in-tune with where your plane wants to go. Say you have your plane trimmed nose-up, but need to start pitching down. The higher you had it pitched, the more the joystick will fight you to push the nose down! It also helps you know when you're really flying the plane well, because it stops fighting you 😉 .

Air turbulence works pretty well with the FFB as well, except at times it can be pretty harsh. The forces are pretty *sudden* sometimes, and if you don't have a good stiff arm, you'll find that the joystick starts flopping around with your hand on it. (Don't worry, you'll learn to hold it centered pretty quickly 😉 ).

The other thing I really like about the MS FFB2 joystick is that that it's not always on (i.e., moving around without your hand on it). They built a tiny optical beam right by where your pinky would sit. If you lift the lower portion of your hand, the forces turn off (the beam is no longer cut), but it still operates like a joystick. This is a GREAT feature, since some aircraft designers took forces way too far, and made the ground "bumps" feel like a minor earthquake....