I don't know why everyone complains about Saitek. All in all they're good quality. Could be stronger, but things could always be stronger. The only actual complaint I have is that the spring isn't very tight, but it's something I quickly got used to. Other than that I'd love force feedback, and I would have preferred to see FFB in their new stick rather than the no movement whatever you call it.
Saitek is still good stuff, but everyone has their own preferences.
Edit: Oh yeah, a survey of the gear at the CON showed a heavy predominance of Saitek gear, with CH also proving very popular, either with stick and throttle or flight yoke.
The Saitek X-52 is a fantastic setup for the price, which about sums it up in my opinion. However, I can't get over the mechanical dead zone which plagues the X-52. It's still a massive step up from a standalone joystick. Being able to control every aspect of your game without adjusting you grip to much is a massive necessity if you want to improve.
The question you need to ask yourself is this. "Do I love the game enough to spend the extra money for a full CH setup". My answer was yes to that question, obviously. Was it worth it, without a doubt!
On the topic of this supposed "survey of the gear at the CON". I can well believe that more players had Saitek gear rather than CH, I bet most of them drive an SUV, but does that mean said SUV is better than Ferrari? No offence intended btw, I still drive around on a scooter.
Sometime next year, after the holidays are over, I'm going to put my CH gear aside and dust off my old X-52. I will no doubt spend a couple months, if not more time on evaluating it for a fair but just write up. Whether or not my opinion matters to anyone on these forums is another question. However, I've come across many video reviews on YouTube which praise the X-52. I completely disregard anything that comes out of their mouth when they can barely take off and land without crashing on an arcade game, let alone perform advanced aerial combat manoeuvres or pull God like snapshot in a fully fledged flight combat simulation game which I have the ability of doing.
To the AH2 community, please let me know if either a CH and/or a X-52 review would be of any use to you. I would only do a review if enough people from the forum showed interest. It would be my way of giving back to the community.