[Raven Morpheus]

Hey all

I've come into a tiny bit of money recently and I'm considering an upgrade to my Saitek X45. It was 2nd hand when I bought it, the Fire C button (the little button on the top front right) 9/10 times doesn't want to work, the grip surface is peeling, the 2nd D-pad "cap" is slightly broken and I think the throttle has a slight problem because in IL2 1946 it keeps "twitching" the throttle every now and then so I get the "Power xxx%" message frequently. It could be because I rest my hand on it though but it didn't used to do it.

So, time for an upgrade methinks.

I'm looking at the X52 Pro, if I can get my hands on one, supply seems short if non-existent at the moment though.

Problem is I don't use rudder pedals and I can't use rudder pedals because I just don't have the room to use them - when gaming I sit on my bed (single, 3ft wide) in front of my monitor because my PC is in my tiny box bedroom (which is no more than 7ft x 9ft) so obviously that rules out using pedals.

I'm also not comfortable with twist rudders, I had that on my Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X, and quickly disabled it in favour of the rocker on the throttle.

And that kind of leaves me with a little problem if I buy an X52 Pro - because it has no rudder rocker on the throttle.

Besides using the X45 throttle and just leaving the stick plugged in but on my floor, or doing some surgery on the X45 to remove the stick but keep the board and put it in the throttle base, is there any other option I have?

Also does the X52 Pro even work in IL2 1946 4.12.2, don't think there's any reason it shouldn't but as it's newer stick than the X45 I'm a little wary of it?

And last but not least can the scroll wheel on the front of the throttle be used as elevator trim in IL2 1946 - if it can, and it's any good, it would save me building my own trim box because I'd have 3 axis to use for trims on the X52 (2 rotaries and the wheel)? Although likely I'll still end up building my own trim box to get more accurate pots...

TIA for any advice on this.