Which yoke do you recommend?

[TeaSea]

After thousands of nautical miles, I think my Saitek AV8R-01 is finally dying.....she just can't seem to stay calibrated and the little electrons are flowing places they shouldn't.

With that in mind I'm thinking of replacing her with a full up yoke. I've seen the CH version and the Saitek...

If any of you guys were going to buy today, which would you recommend? About top $ for me would be $130 or so.

Also, what do you do about rudder control?

 

[Dangerous Beans]

I cant comment on the CH Elite yolk but I did have the earlier CH Pro USB and it was a complete waste of money IMO, the plastic shaft running through plastic bushes warped and wore very quickly and made it unusable.

I now have a Saitek yolk and am very happy with it, its smooth, reliable and precise.

 

[THibben]

PFC yoke

I have had a PFC column yoke for years and has never failed. It is very precise and repeatable. It is more expensive than others but you get what you pay for.

Tom

 

[Tako_Kichi]

I have the Saitek yoke and like it but must admit I don't use it much as I have to take the time to set it up if I want to use it whereas my Saitek X52 is always set up on a small table beside me and always plugged in.

As to rudder control I use the pedals from my Logitech MOMO racing wheel as rudder pedals.

 

[LonelyplanetXO]

Saitek Yoke, pedals & throttle set for me. Replaced my CH stick and pedals stuff a while ago after considerable research. The quality and functionality seemed a lot better than CH equivalent. Can't give a long term report (it's about 6 months old I spose) but so far very happy with it. Also have a stick attached via the USB hub on the yoke. Takes a few steps to switch between the yoke and stick (move throttle to lhs, change a couple of assignments in FS) but works quite well. Really like the toe brakes on the pedals. Only complaint is the USB hub doesn't produce enough power resulting in the lcd display on the yoke flickering.

LPXO

 

[Dangerousdave26]

I have the Saitek yoke with three throttle quadrants and rudder pedals (a must).

It works well.

 

[HighGround22]

Yeah, likewise on the Saitek. Yoke, extra quadrant and the rudder/brake pedals. They all work nicely indeed!

Started with CH, a few years ago, and shortly after Saitek trotted-out their gear, I started with the pedals. I particularly like the wider stance -- the distance between them. With the CH jobs, my ankles (size 13 EEE) were banging together, but the Saiteks eased that problem, plus they just "feel" more exact and precise.

Maybe the biggest difference was in the yoke and throttle quadrant(s). The yoke has a nice "beefy" feel in your hands, and I much prefer the placement of the many buttons and switches. The throttle/prop/mixture controls have a nice 90-degree arc of action, which facilitate fine adjustments (going to METO power on take-off, etc).

I had planned to keep my CH gear "just in case", but about two months after getting the Saiteks, I gave the CH goodies away. If one of these Saiteks were to break-down now, I'd just get a new one. That simple.

 

[pilottj]

I had the oppertunity to try both, I have had a CH pro system with peddals that have worked quite reliably for quite a few years. Now a friend is letting me try his Saitek pro flight system. The CH system is a little more compact on the desk and you should have room to keep your keyboard tray attached. tho that is one of its disadvantages as well, as it has smaller throttle/mix/prop controls on the top right of it and the top surface is rounded so cant put much on top of it.

The Saitek yoke takes a up a little more desk space and it required I remove the keyboard tray to fit the clamp. I jerryrigged a keyboard tray around it with some C Clamps. The top of the saitek yoke unit is flat so you can have your mouse on it or somthing, it is longer so if you have big CRT monitor you will have to push it farther back. The throttle unit is seperate and you will have to find a spot on your desk to clamp that as well but the levers are far more realistic in size and function than the CH and they have indents that you could assign to 'reverse' functions via FSUIPC or somthing. The saitek yoke also has a timer/clock on the front of it which is nice. The Saitek yoke 'grip' is a little thicker than the CH. The Saitek also had a noticeable point of being 'centered' where as the CH was a little more free moving with no noticeable center. Another Saitek 'advantage' is that it has some USB ports on the side so you can hook in more controls/pedals/mouse...etc

The CH Pedals are a bit more heavy duty material than the Saitek pedals but the Saitek set has a resistance dial on it to tighten or loosen your pedal movement. The pedals will probably take the most abuse from you, especially if you do a lot of shortfield landing/braking. I had to take apart my CH pedals at one point to give the braking action a little more stiffness, but this was after quite a few years of 'action'. Other than that my CH unit has been quite trouble free. I don't know long how long my friend has had his Saitek unit exactly but I think a few years at least and it seems still quite solid tho I think it's pedals will go sooner than the CH would. Jon is right the Saiteks are a little wider in stance.

Basically if you want somthing probably a little cheaper and more compact go with the CH, if you want somthing a little more elaborate go with the Saitek. Hope this helps

Cheers
TJ

 

[Scratch]

I have the CH yoke and pedals. I don't care much for the yoke as it just doesn't feel right. The only planes I've flown in real life are the Cessna 172 and 182 and the CH yoke doesn't even come close. I hate the spring on it.
The pedals on the other hand work really well and are close enough for me. They are really solid.

 

[spotlope]

I've had a good bit of experience over the years with several setups. I started with a CH yoke, CH pedals, and eventually a CH throttle quadrant. Then I bought a fancy all-metal PFC yoke and used it for several years in conjunction with my other CH gear. And finally, a couple of years ago I sold my PFC yoke and bought a full Saitek setup - yoke, pedals, and a pair of throttle units.

The CH stuff was solid gear and worked well. The pedals especially were nearly indestructible. Of course, the PFC yoke worked beautifully and was significantly heavier in feel than the CH version. However, it was also enormous and cumbersome, and when I reconfigured my office I wanted something I could easily put aside when I wasn't flying.

The Saitek yoke feels better to me than the CH version. It's got a better fit, at least for my hands. Also, the shaft is metal, and the action is a lot smoother than my old CH unit. The Saitek pedals are spaced a little farther apart than CH, which fits me better as well, and they've got a tension adjuster to dial up the resistance. Lastly, I like the design of the Saitek throttles much better than CH - the levers are longer, have a longer travel, and the units just look more like the real deal to me. Plus, you can buy them three levers at a time, and add as many as you like.

For my money, Saitek has the best setup right now. The price is comparable to CH, and you get a better thought-out design IMO.

 

[TeaSea]

This is all good input....

I gather that without rudder peddles you have to revert to "auto-rudder" ?

Also, the system is used in the home office, so real estate is a consideration....I have to keep the machine available for other less important activities....like earning a living.