Rating: Summary: The Best Yoke Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review: Good yoke for the price
I got this yoke a month ago and I love it.
It is the only simulator yoke that will simulate the realism of a an aircraft's yoke for this price. The functions of the three levers for mixture, throttle and prop. pitch are great to have and the two switches on the main body for the flaps and landing gear (if you configure them like that) are also really nice.
The negative points on this yoke are:
First, the really really really sensitive and hard to move trim wheel,
Second, the non smooth and full of friction yoke,
Third, the inability of the yoke to return to a single neutral position. It just stops wherever it wants.
Having said that, in order to get anything else with the features of this yoke would have cost you much much more.
I am currently flying a piper Cherokee and its counterpart piper warrior in the FS2004 simulator (in which the yoke intergrades seamlessly) and I find the whole thing really helpful.
Its not perfect but its really good for the money.
I have to say though that only a little extra effort from this company would have made this yoke much better.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Yoke Review: I am learning to fly on a Cessna 172 and am using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 as an adjunct. I have found the simulator actually more difficult to fly than the real Cessna. The CH USB Flight Sim Yoke goes a long way towards solving this problem and making the simulator more closely mimic reality. I have not encountered problems others have mentioned such as the controls failing to neutral and the yoke being difficult to clamp to my desk. I find the trim wheel is too stiff but perhaps that is a problem unique to the particular yoke I bought. In any event, this yoke is well worth the purchase price.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Review: I bought this Yoke to fly FlighSim 2004. I doesn't calibrate, doesn't reverse, the software is outdated. Avoid this product !
Rating: Summary: Great but... Review: I really like this product. As a licensed pilot, this item gives a more realistic civilian PC flying experience then any joystick can. And for the price, it can't be beat. Sure, there are other yokes costing A LOT more, but unless you want to build a PC simulator you can log real time in, why bother?
My reason for 4 instead of 5 stars? The clamps are awful. They are designed only to fit really thick, flat desks. If your computer desk has a curved front, it's really difficult to get this to stay put.
The feel of the yoke is a little too plasticky. I would like to see slightly smaller yoke with a closer material feel to a real yoke.
This item is a MUST have for anyone who takes their civilian flight simulators ( Micrsoft flight sim, X-plane,Fly!) seriously. It's so much more enjoyable and realistic then using a joystick. Unless you have Airbus simulator add-ons!
Rating: Summary: Works Great w/ my MSFS2004 Review: I really wanted a yoke for FS2004 - I use that program to practice IFR flight. When I discovered that USB yokes are $very expensive - I was very disapointed - then I found these CH products. Sure it is plastic - but it is well worth it I believe. I almost did not buy it because of reviews here, but I am sure glad I did. XP recognized the yoke right away - and there was no need for a software installation. (I guess the CD that ships with the yoke is for lesser Windows Versions). I then launched FS2004 and sure enough - it recognized the CH Yoke and had already set up all of the assignments for all buttons and levers. Took off from ORH and loved the product from that moment . . .I am sure the "real" yokes are better, but who the hell wnats to spend that much money. . . .next I plan on purchasing their rudder pedals.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely the best flight sim setup available Review: Let me start by saying that this setup is not for the typical gamer or the flight simmer that likes to yank n bank. This setup is more for fans of Flight Sim, and other more "serious" simulators out there that focus more on reality than action. That being said...For the price this setup cannot be beat. I treated myself to the CH Yoke Pro USB and USB Rudder Pedals about 8 months ago, and I am still greatly enjoying them today. I probably paid about twentyfive more for each (Fifty total) at that time, but even at that price it was a great deal considering the quality and entertainment I've received from them. I've always been a big fan of flight sims and I must say that this rig in conjuntion with MS Flight Sim 2004 is the best commercial flight sim there has ever been. The level of realism increases immensely with the use of the yoke and rudder pedals. Also, with the number of buttons and levers on the yoke, you almost don't need to use the keyboad at all. Just about everything you need is right at your fingertips; Throttle, Mixture, Prop Pitch, Gear Up/Down, Flaps Up/Down, 8-Way View Hat, Rudder Trim, Elevator Trim, plus 4 other misc buttons to do more stuff with. Note that all of the buttons and levers can be customized to anything you like. MS Flight Sim immediately recognizes this yoke and sets it up with a default set of controls that does just about everything you need. Another really nice feature is the rudder pedals have independant variable braking (something I didn't know that real planes even have) which means you can break the left and right wheels independantly. This is done by each foot pedal being pushed in the typical way a gas or break pedal would work on a steering wheel setup. This is not only used for braking, but also as an aid in steering. Of course the pedals also slide forward and back for rudder control, all exactly the way a real plane works. This adds an even higher level of realism that no joystick can reproduce. A review would seem biased if I didn't mention something I didn't like about the product, but I can honestly say that I am perfectly happy with it, and have nothing bad to say. The yoke and pedals are built solid and meant to last, and the performance is flawless. So all I can say is if you enjoy flight sims, or if you're toying with the idea of getting your pilots license, then this setup is a must. I have no regrets on my purchase, and it's even cheaper now. I hope that doesn't mean they are going away, but if it does make sure to get one before they do.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely the best flight sim setup available Review: Let me start by saying that this setup is not for the typical gamer or the flight simmer that likes to yank n bank. This setup is more for fans of Flight Sim, and other more "serious" simulators out there that focus more on reality than action. That being said... For the price this setup cannot be beat. I treated myself to the CH Yoke Pro USB and USB Rudder Pedals about 8 months ago, and I am still greatly enjoying them today. I probably paid about twentyfive more for each (Fifty total) at that time, but even at that price it was a great deal considering the quality and entertainment I've received from them. I've always been a big fan of flight sims and I must say that this rig in conjuntion with MS Flight Sim 2004 is the best commercial flight sim there has ever been. The level of realism increases immensely with the use of the yoke and rudder pedals. Also, with the number of buttons and levers on the yoke, you almost don't need to use the keyboad at all. Just about everything you need is right at your fingertips; Throttle, Mixture, Prop Pitch, Gear Up/Down, Flaps Up/Down, 8-Way View Hat, Rudder Trim, Elevator Trim, plus 4 other misc buttons to do more stuff with. Note that all of the buttons and levers can be customized to anything you like. MS Flight Sim immediately recognizes this yoke and sets it up with a default set of controls that does just about everything you need. Another really nice feature is the rudder pedals have independant variable braking (something I didn't know that real planes even have) which means you can break the left and right wheels independantly. This is done by each foot pedal being pushed in the typical way a gas or break pedal would work on a steering wheel setup. This is not only used for braking, but also as an aid in steering. Of course the pedals also slide forward and back for rudder control, all exactly the way a real plane works. This adds an even higher level of realism that no joystick can reproduce. A review would seem biased if I didn't mention something I didn't like about the product, but I can honestly say that I am perfectly happy with it, and have nothing bad to say. The yoke and pedals are built solid and meant to last, and the performance is flawless. So all I can say is if you enjoy flight sims, or if you're toying with the idea of getting your pilots license, then this setup is a must. I have no regrets on my purchase, and it's even cheaper now. I hope that doesn't mean they are going away, but if it does make sure to get one before they do.
Rating: Summary: Best yoke for the price...and just plain great! Review: See my full review with photos on my website (look it up by my name). OPERATION: I used the CH Products Flight Sim Yoke with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 A Century of Flight. Flight Simulator immediately recognized the yoke at startup and already had all the buttons mapped. I changed them to my preferences using the setup panel in FS. On my first flight I noticed that the elevator was really jumping around. It wouldn't stay where I put it! I really thought the yoke was broken. Then a very distant memory began to emerge from my checkered past. I recalled that I still had my old Gameport joystick plugged in...problem solved. These USB devices do not work with Gameport devices. The yoke felt very much like the Cessna's that I fly (C172R), albeit a bit lighter weight. The resistance was a little surprising, very stiff, which is good for cross country flying. It took a little getting used to the button locations, especially the hat switch, but after a few hours it falls right into my grasp. Having an 8-position hat switch sure makes the landing pattern easier to fly, and with all the buttons on the yoke I don't need to touch the keyboard. The trim wheel was very stiff, so I wouldn't use it to trim the airplane, just to adjust the joystick centering during calibration. SELF CENTERING OR NOT??? I was concerned about the lack of center detent when I initially read the literature. But this doesn't mean the joystick doesn't self-center. It snaps back to center with about 1/4 inches of center play, just like in a real airplane.
Rating: Summary: Great Yoke Review: This Yoke is gr8. The clamps are very good, and the realism acquired in flight simulator with this thing is incredible. The price is very low, BUY IT
Rating: Summary: The only Yoke for the masses Review: This yoke is the only choice in this price range except for the similar and slightly cheaper LE version that comes with one throttle lever instead of three. I agree that it is a little bit overpriced and plasticky but you'd end up paying ten times more for a more realistic product. I just bought it anticipating the release of MS Flight Simulator 2004 and I can't wait to fly some civilian aircraft with it in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I've successfully flown tons of He-111 bomber missions in IL-2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles and the yoke has worked great there and added tons of realism. It's a bit mushy though and it's too bad it does not have a dead-on center. I had to correct my straight flight path almost constantly. I was glad I didn't have to touch the software CD that came with. I just plugged it in, Windows XP recognized it immediately, and I assigned functions to the buttons and axis inside the game with no problems. CH Products last forever (I've used their Flightstick Pro for 10 years now), they have good customer support, and they're all made in the USA.
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