A roughly $20 USB joystick from the mid-2000s with twist rudder, throttle lever and hat switch that early owners called a bargain. Some owners report a loose center or grease in the twist and throttle that stiffened with age, and the original Saitek drivers do not install on modern 64-bit Windows, so it now makes sense only as a cheap secondhand starter stick.
This entry is written from the 5 sources listed at the bottom of the page. The numbers are our editorial estimates drawn from that material, not measurements, and no statistical sample sits behind them.
It depends on how you will use it. 45% would buy it again, which means roughly 55% would not. Grease in the twist and throttle bearings can stiffen with age.
Owners a few months in generally still found it good value for casual flying, though some noticed the loose center and the stiff, short-arc twist rudder in more demanding sims.
Grease in the twist and throttle bearings can stiffen with age. Original Saitek drivers are legacy 32-bit software that Windows 11 cannot load. Looseness around center can force keyboard corrections in demanding sims.
Worth it for: Casual flight sim beginners; Retro pc gaming; Very tight budgets buying used. Think twice if: Serious combat sim pilots; Players who need precise rudder control; Anyone wanting current software support.
Our reading of how sentiment moves across an ownership period, drawn from the sources below. It is an editorial estimate, not tracked longitudinal data.
| At purchase | 7.5 / 10 |
|---|---|
| First week | 7.0 / 10 |
| One month | 6.5 / 10 |
| Six months | 6.0 / 10 |
| One year | 5.5 / 10 |
| Two years or more | 5.0 / 10 |
Owner reviews move this score. The researched figure stays visible next to it, so you can always see what the sources said before anyone voted.
Leave a review on the live pageEvery complaint and every piece of praise above traces back to these. The summaries are ours; nothing is quoted, and no link, quote or username anywhere on this site is invented.
Rates the $21 stick 4 out of 5 for its features and smooth action, but notes a light plastic base and driver software that failed to install.
Early owners found it smoother than their previous sticks and a bargain at under 20 pounds, with only minor calibration issues and a bulky base.
An owner found the ST290 decent but disliked the stiff, short rudder twist and found the bearing grease had hardened with age until he cleaned and regreased it.
A poster who bought an ST290 for $25 describes about an inch of play before any input, forcing keyboard corrections, though the twist was fine for taxiing.
A Q&A explainer saying the stick normally works through Windows' built-in HID driver, that Windows 11 cannot load old 32-bit drivers, and giving troubleshooting steps for jitter, centering and detection problems.