Saitek yoke......or not?

[rightseater 0]

I posted a comment in the harware forum, but it hasn't been getting a lot of reception, so I thought I'd try here. I need to replace my CH yoke, which is now worn beyond repair. I was about to order the Saitek yoke, but then I read a review noting that it has a center detent. Does it indeed have a center detent, and if so is that for both the pitch and roll axis? Perhaps I should just get another CH yoke????

[Steve1969 8]

I have just replaced my old CH yoke with the Saitek version and to be honest I have very mixed feelings about it. On the positive side, it is well built, the throttle/mixture/prop controls are good, the stopwatch is handy and the self centering is great.However, the feel is not great. I'm not sure if it needs running in, but it feels rough and the "notch" that enables self centering seems to stick and causes very jerky flying. It becomes very noticable and annoying.I feel that my old CH yoke with it greased up with vaseline gave much better control due to the smoothness and little effort required to move it.....but it didn't centre well.Hope that gives you some insight.

[Guest tcable]

I find the centering discussion to be a tough one. IRL there is no actual centering on a light aircraft- it's done by aerodynamic forces over the ailerons and elevators- hence why real world pilots talk about 'feel'. Flying at 60 knots feels far different than at 105. The control forces are much higher at higher airspeeds.Note that I'm only talking about your run of the mill GA aircraft with no artificial feel or boosted controls.Sit in a 172 on the ground and the controls can just flop around- ideally smoothly, but not always. Depends on the condition of the rigging. Checking the controls is part of the preflight.Once desktop simulation gets to that point, I'll REALLY be impressed.Tim

[rightseater 0]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like I'm going to get to check out the Saitek yoke for myself anyway. I went ahead and ordered it last night because my CH yoke had finally just stopped working, but I also have a new CH yoke coming just in case. I tweaked my old CH yoke to better match the feel of my 206 with some different springs and CV boot grease. When I got my Baron last year I tightened the yoke up a bit, but by then I had made so many modifications that it was losing its internal structural integrity. Yesterday it finally just up an quit. If the Saitek yoke doesn't get the job done I'll have a CH yoke to replace it with shortly and I can start messing it up all over again. At least it lasted me five good years.

[Geofa 108]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like I'm going to get to check out the Saitek yoke for myself anyway. I went ahead and ordered it last night because my CH yoke had finally just stopped working, but I also have a new CH yoke coming just in case. I tweaked my old CH yoke to better match the feel of my 206 with some different springs and CV boot grease. When I got my Baron last year I tightened the yoke up a bit, but by then I had made so many modifications that it was losing its internal structural integrity. Yesterday it finally just up an quit. If the Saitek yoke doesn't get the job done I'll have a CH yoke to replace it with shortly and I can start messing it up all over again. At least it lasted me five good years.

Jeremy-I think you will like the Saitek-it feels more like a Baron. The only thing which is strange is it doesn't go over to each side more than 45 degrees. Strange though-I never noticed this till someone pointed it out!

[Guest stevehow]

I posted a comment in the harware forum, but it hasn't been getting a lot of reception, so I thought I'd try here. I need to replace my CH yoke, which is now worn beyond repair. I was about to order the Saitek yoke, but then I read a review noting that it has a center detent. Does it indeed have a center detent, and if so is that for both the pitch and roll axis? Perhaps I should just get another CH yoke????

Hii own the saitek yoke,i had to open it up to get it to move smoothly.i removed a plastic ring from the yoke shaft and now it feels much better.my one piece of advice if you do get one...Don't use any grease or oil on the metal shaft.it fouls the plastic ring inside and makes it freeze up.. cheers steve

[Tim Arnot 5]

I considered buying a Saitek yoke, end of last year, and I had the chance to try one out. Glad I did, because the centre notch in both axes was really bad. That was the show stopper for me - otherwise it seems pretty nice.

[Guest Aviator4life]

FWIW, in regards to the lack of a self-centering feature and the CH Flight Sim Yoke, well there is a VERY simple and easy to implement work-around.All a person needs to do is to score a centerline mark/hash on the case directly above the yoke shaft and then score a line on the shaft in the shape of a 'T' to denote the center position of the yoke for both the pitch and roll axis. This should be done while using the calibration screen to verify the center position while marking. The edge of an unrolled paperclip will serve good enough to do the scoring. Large markings are not needed. This way a sim-pilot can return their yoke to the true center position anytime they want or need to. You can always do this with a dab of paint if you'd like, I prefer the scoring method as it is the least noticable but still serves well enough at a glance.As far as some kind of detent, spring loaded, or automatic centering, it is quite true that one won't find this in a realworld aircraft. So if one is truly interested in "as real as it gets", then go with this suggestion, it is much closer to reality than a self-centering yoke. That is the truth, plain and simple.As far as the decision to go with a Saitek yoke, well, all I can say is that I got over 5 years out of my old analogue CH flight yoke and pedals. They were still functioning perfectly well when I upgraded to the USB versions after building a new rig a couple years back, over two years of frequent use on the USB Ch Flight Sim Yoke and Pro Pedals and 0 issues to date. In total over 8 years of frequent use with these products and no problems whatsoever. Of course, YMMV. Best regards. :(

[Randall 82]

I posted a comment in the harware forum, but it hasn't been getting a lot of reception, so I thought I'd try here. I need to replace my CH yoke, which is now worn beyond repair. I was about to order the Saitek yoke, but then I read a review noting that it has a center detent. Does it indeed have a center detent, and if so is that for both the pitch and roll axis? Perhaps I should just get another CH yoke????

I had CHproducts analog yoke for years--worked very well. I upgraded to Saitek and have enjoyed it. The levers are excellent. Yes, detent is a little bothersome. Someone on these boards once suggested opening it up and removing one of the springs which will then result in a much smoother yoke. I have not tried this yet but I might.

[rightseater 0]

My Saitek yoke just showed up this morning. So far I am very pleased, though I will be making whatever modifications are necessary to get rid of the center detent(s). The heavier feel is much more authentic for the Baron, but I will still be using my CH yoke (modified) for flying the 206 as it is a bit sloppier than the Baron.

[Geofa 108]

My Saitek yoke just showed up this morning. So far I am very pleased, though I will be making whatever modifications are necessary to get rid of the center detent(s). The heavier feel is much more authentic for the Baron, but I will still be using my CH yoke (modified) for flying the 206 as it is a bit sloppier than the Baron.

Jeremy-You might want to try mounting your saitek under the desk-gives even more of a "Baron" feel...as for the center detent-just demote yourself to an earlier model with the control bar... :(

[rightseater 0]

Jeremy-You might want to try mounting your saitek under the desk-gives even more of a "Baron" feel...as for the center detent-just demote yourself to an earlier model with the control bar... :(

I just moved it underneath my desk and it does feel much better. It is at a more accurate height now and still has that heavier feel. But I AM NOT demoting myself..........that twin is costing me too much to afford a demotion.