Greetings fellow pilots,I am considering purchasing a CH Flightsim Yoke (again). I bought my first one back in the mid 90's and threw it in the garbage because I couldn't get it to operate smooth enough to allow for the precision in pitch control necessary for accurate simulation. I bought my second version about five years ago and ultimately cut it up and made a throttle console out of it for the same reason. My question is regarding the "new" version. It is advertised to be without a center detent. Such a statement gives me hope. Have they finally overcome the smoothness issue in the pitch axis?Thanks,Bill Worth

Hi Bill,My CH Yoke is about 2 tears old, but is the new version without the center detent. Like you, I was disappointed in the pitch control - it seemed to "bind" and resulted in a jerky fore and aft motion. I disassembled the yoke and did a thorough sanding of the plastic shaft, starting with a 180 grit and then progressively finer grits until I finished with a plastic polish. I then applied a small amount of silicon grease to the three bushings (don't use a petroleum based grease!). For good measure, I also used some lighter springs. It is now smooth as silk and I am completely happy with it.If you buy a new yoke and are unhappy with it, I would advise you to return it to CH Products with a detailed explanation of what's wrong. They seem to be a decent company and I'm betting they will either correct the problem or send you a new one. Not everyone seems to have the problem, so it is probably a case of variance in the demensions of the plastic components.Dale

Bill,Real airplane yokes center, why not FS yokes. I don't have the CH Yoke so can't speak directly to that but real yokes seek a point of travel where pressure is not needed. To alter that point we use trim. I would be concerned that without a centering mechanism of some kind that control would be unnatural.

Mike,The latest CH yokes do self-center because they have springs which resist movement from the center or neutral position. What is different is they do not have a "detent", a definite notch for the nuetral position. With correct calibration, they do a good job of simulating the way real aircraft yokes feel. Ona FS aircraft with a good flight model, I can adjust the trim to fly "hands off", even in a climb or descent.The CH Yoke is not perfect, especially at the extremes of its travel, but I would imagine you would have to pay a lot more to get anything much better.Dale

Hi Dale,Thanks for the info. I'm encouraged by reading your comments. I haven't seen anyone else with a similar concern. I was thinking I might be the only one. I have about twenty years experience RW flying and every now and then I would make a pretty good landing.In flightsim, if the darn yoke sticks, I never make a pretty good landing. So, all this is important for ego reasons.;-) I just ordered a new unit via Newegg. I shall take your advice.I thank you again for your help.Bill Worth

Hi Mike,I appreciate what you are saying. Certainly if there was no center of pressure, it would be rather worthless in terms of approximating the "real feel". I think CH has taken that into consideration as indicated in the other post. I appeciate your point though and I agree. I like your signature too.I used to say: "Any landing that you can walk away from is a good landing. And, any landing that you can taxi away from is an excellent landing.":P Best,Bill Worth

Update:I ordered the new CH Products Flightsim Yoke USB from Newegg. It arrived via Fedex in three days. I found the product to be considerably better then the ones I tossed and cut up in years past. The lack of a center detent helps. But there also seems to be an improvement in the pressure required to move the control in the pitch axis. It seems more like that which one would encounter in RW applications. I am also pleased to report the sticking problem that drove me to stupid human tricks in the past seems to be corrected.I would recommend both Newegg and CH Products to anyone looking to enhance realism with this hobby.Thanks for listening,Bill Worth

So how do you like the CH products, I was looking into ordering some and the foot pedals. I'm and pilot and have IFR rating and would like to get mor practice in IFR approaches and looking for some input by someone has has them and sure would make cross wind landings easier. Is there any feel such as wheels touching down or bumping in turbulance things like that.Thanks for your time. ScotA missed approach is a chance to improve on the first. LOL

Hi Scot,I have both the rudder pedals and the Flightsim Yoke USB. The combination does help make my bedroom seem more like a flight deck. I would advise you to look at www.newegg.com for excellent pricing and unreal delivery time. I said three days to get the yoke in my previous email but it was really two as the three number was counting the day I ordered it. Concerning the rudder pedals, I had some problems with the toe brakes. I finally gave up and disabled them. But the rudder pedals work well for crosswind landings and for directional control on the ground. FS2004 flight modeling has some issues regarding the use of rudders in the air. But, nothing serious. I think you would be happy with the overall experience. Go for it!Best regards,Bill Worth

>So how do you like the CH products, I was looking into>ordering some and the foot pedals. I'm and pilot and have IFR>rating and would like to get mor practice in IFR approaches>and looking for some input by someone has has them and sure>would make cross wind landings easier. Is there any feel such>as wheels touching down or bumping in turbulance things like>that.>>Thanks for your time. Scot>>A missed approach is a chance to improve on the first. LOL Hi Mike,I used to be a IFR rated and still enjoy the challenge of IFR on FS9. Re your question, the CH Yoke is not a force-feedback type, so you do not get the feel of turbulence or landing. In all other respects, it does a good job of mimicking the feel of the real thing. I would recommend the payware version of FSUIPC as a means of calibrating the yoke to give the right amount of freepay. You also can play with the FS9 sensitivity settings to get just the right feel for small inputs. The trim rocker switch is handy to your left thumb and the rocker switch on the right can be used to control the heading bug.The CH rudder pedals do a good job within the limitations of the FS9 rudder definition. Just like the real thing, you can put just a touch of aileron and rudder to move the heading a degree or two on final and then cross control to keep the aircraft on the centerline with a crosswind.I also use the CH throttle quadrant - much better than the throttle on the CH Yoke, and can be used for singles, 2, 3, or 4 engines. I converted the throttle on the yoke to be my flap control and the right lever to be a speedbrake control. If you only fly singles, the CH Pro throttle is also very good and gives you lots of extra buttons, but can only be used as a left-hand throttle.Hope this helps,Dale

Hi,Just to add up to the discussion here, one little tip I found very helpful searching through hundreds of forums.The CH Yoke does get sticky eventually and the best way to get it smooth again is to apply a thin layer of 'Liquid Wrench' by Gunk brand.It's a Dry-Lube with PTFE and it works miracles.I also use the full setup including yoke, pedals and throttle quadrant and cannot imagine simming without it.It adds soo much to the realism.Have fun,Dom

I was the one that originally posted the Liquid Wrench Dry Lube idea. Since then, Liquid Wrench has changed the name of that lube from Dry Lube with PTFE to LIquid Wrench Dry Lube with Cerflon ( Pt # L-512) http://www.gunk.com/AutoNewProducts.aspI give my yoke a shot of it about every 3 months, not even hving to take it apart, and it works perfectly. By the way, I finally broke down and bought the CH Pedals about 5 months ago and they have brought flying FS9 to a whole new dimension. I couldn't fly without them now.

Thanks Dom and Bob for the Liquid Wrench tip. Gee, I might have been able to avoid the sacrafice of my previous yoke with it. I tried several other products, but they didn't work.:(Thanks again,Bill Worth