Well, my Gladiator Mk2 has arrived.
First impressions, and some comparisons to my 2 month old X52pro.
The box was lighter than I had imagined. After watching the few English reviews available, where it was said to be, "heavy", I expected something a bit more substantial. But it's not too light frail and cheap either, actually a bit heavier than the X52 stick. Can easily maintain position on the silicone feet, without the need for suction cups.
It seems to be well made, good fit and finish. The WW2 style is far more pleasing than the Super dustbuster X52pro. The grip is smooth, rotated slightly to the left, quite comfortable. A little checkering would be nice, maybe I'll add a bit of grip tape like on some of my pistols. It's a replica grip, so maybe the originals were smooth too?
The action of the stick is butter soft and smooth. Completely different feel from the X52. The ball and socket with central coil spring gimbal of the X52, gives a springy boing boing feeling. The Gladiator has none of that, it almost feels like a fluid coupling, very good, but different! I personally liked it better, immediately. You actually feel the front/back pitch, and side/side roll "gates" as the gimbal moves. Not a bad thing at all, it actually feels kinda like moving separate elevator and aileron control linkages, kinda cool!
On X52, the spring gets stiffer, the farther you move it away from center. And when allowed to spring back freely it wobbles back and forth until it stops. On Gladiator the tension remains constant from center to the limit of stick travel, and the stick returns to center with NO wobbling. Seems like the design of the gimbal has a self dampening effect, offering a very nice feel! At this point, (brand new) there is NO free play or wobble in the center of the stick travel, none! This is one area where the MK2 is said to be improved over the original Gladiator, have to see if it lasts over time and use.
Gladiator uses magnetic sensors on all three stick axis of movement, Pitch Roll, and Yaw. So there shouldn't be any Rudder spiking issues, as on other sticks that use a rheostat for the twist. The twisty function is quite firm, but there is no rudder lockout. All the buttons have a firm feel, with tactile and audible click when pressed. Throttle rheostat works smoothly, without being too loose. The Stick hat switch is concave in shape, instead of being convex like the X52, and is positioned a bit close to the stick body. Again, an issue having to do with the replica form of the stick. So someone with fat sausage fingers might have an issue at the 1:30 and 3 oclock positions. I am borderline with it, so I may glue a small black bead into the center of the concave hat. That will fix that issue and be hardly noticeable.
I have paired it with a refurbed X55 twin throttle. The combo offers enough switches and buttons that I have no need to switch modes or use the shift button. Look great together too! Windows 10 picked it up instantly, and no problems at all mapping to AH. SWEET!
$85 for this stick was a steal, the $30 shipping Zucks, but overall still very worthwhile!
My X52pro in now on the shelf!
