VR Insight Flight Master Yoke

[chris1965 13]

The VR Insight Flight Master Yoke looks very interesting indeed. Can anyone (who has tried this yoke) share their opinion / impression? I have searched the web for a review without success thusfar.

[pqa000 0]

I've got one and I love it. It's really heavy and well built. I had a Saitek yoke and it was nothing in comparison. I could never get the Saitek calibrated correctly, but the FlightMaster is rock solid in that department. It wasn't cheap, but I wish I had spent the additonal money the first time around.

[James79 1]

I've got one and I love it. It's really heavy and well built. I had a Saitek yoke and it was nothing in comparison. I could never get the Saitek calibrated correctly, but the FlightMaster is rock solid in that department. It wasn't cheap, but I wish I had spent the additonal money the first time around.

Any chance of a more in-depth review pqa000 maybe some close up pictures, i'm really interested in purchasing this yoke as my saitek is on its last legs.ThanksJames C

[bsmfinegan 12]

So I too have been looking at the possiblity of purchasing this yoke but reviews are hard to come by.Am using a Saitek pro flight yoke at the moment but the amount of travel through the elevator axis makes it very difficult to judge the amount of flair on landing. Does this new yoke from VRInsight have a realistic amount of travel in it's elevator axis?Bryan.

[ErichB 3,638]

I am also interested and would love a review, if possible. Erich

[spit1 0]

Hi Guys,I am currenlty purchasing one and waiting for delivery.I will do an in depth review as I know alot of you out there are very interested.Bare with us and I will have one up soon with pics and what not. Mite even do a vid for ya Stay tuned

[bsmfinegan 12]

Hi Guys,I am currenlty purchasing one and waiting for delivery.I will do an in depth review as I know alot of you out there are very interested.Bare with us and I will have one up soon with pics and what not. Mite even do a vid for ya Stay tuned

Sounds good, appreciate it.Bryan.

[Blaze 102]

I'm also interested but the lack of any sort of programmable buttons has kept me from purchasing. The price of the PFC yokes has kept me from going that route too. Do you think the VR yoke could be "modified" to take some switches and have the wiring hidden in the shaft?

[Coban 0]

still waiting for review :D

[Blaze 102]

Anything to report? I'm still considering the yoke.

[ohsirus 241]

same here.

[BrassEm 0]

Do you think the VR yoke could be "modified" to take some switches and have the wiring hidden in the shaft?

Unfortunately the yoke shaft is solid and extends right back into the base. I would have to "mic" out the diameter to see if there is any hollow bar stock that could replace the solid piece.The shaft is held in place by 6 sturdy springs internally to provide resistance. There is no "detent" position as such. I would like to add at least a coms switch to the yoke so I will have another look at it and post back.Cheers,

[BrassEm 0]

My VRinsight Flight Master Yoke was ordered in the USA, shipped from Belgium to Australia. Packaging was excellent although shipping damage was evident on the exterior.It is a very robust and very heavy unit. You need at LEAST 2'6" desktop clearance front to back to place this unit. The good thing is you can mount your monitor and other stuff on top of it without worry. The case is made from a heavy gauge sheet metal and has a high quality matt black finish as well.The yoke is a box of approximately 19" depth x 16" wide x 4.5" high. The yoke handle extends on a 21.00mm diameter solid bar out a further 5.5". The handle itself is about 2" deep x 12" wide x 7" high. The box is made from a heavy gauge sheet metal and the yoke handle is a die cast one piece. Unfortunately the hand grabs are solid cast. If ever you wanted to incorporate switches into the top of the hand grips you would need to drill and dremel out a cavity to fit your gear. I hope that VRinsight revise the die cast into a 3 piece to incorporate a cavity for further improvements in functionality.At the back the interface uses a USB A/B cable as used by almost all types of desktop printers. The is also a large access hole that has been bunged just above it. No external power pack is required. Installation was very straight forward following the instructions. Assigned Roll and Pitch in FSX to the USB device and away it went.The yoke is not force feedback but relies on a spring mechanism to impart resistance. The build quality and engineering is carried out extremely well.Rolling the yoke I hear a very low audible thumb when rocking side to side. It appears to be the mechanism taking up tension. There is absolutely no force required to instigate a roll with only a very slight increase in force for a full roll deflection. 0.25 lbs maybe? Measuring from the bottom left hand grip corner, the full travel up and down appears to be 9" in the vertical. There is no zero detent. Pitch is commanded through the 21mm solid bar on three bearings in the assembly. On my unit the front bearing can be moved in any direction by around 1/16". So the yoke control thumps around if I lift it around. (Not a normal action while flying.) There is a "break away" tension from 0.5 Ibs to 1.5 lbs to get the yoke moving in pitch. It does feel sticky compared to the roll axis. The bearings are moving on the chassis and if not aligned properly could be causing the sticking. Up to 3 lbs is needed to get full pitch deflection on the yoke. The fulll travel in pitch motion appears to be 3.5" in the horizontal. There is no zero detent.The Pitch Trim assembly has a large 2" aparture knurled wheel that operates smoothly and firmly without any hint of binding. The trim LED's light to indicate activation of direction once a threshold of movement velocity is reached. (I've not tested this functionality in FSX.)The control PCB is a great surprise. The design is small and efficient as expected, but there appears to be a multitude of features not yet utilised for this unit. As it is there is input Analogue X, Y, Trim, and output Trim UP/DOWN LED's. But on closer inspection the nomenclature of the many many connectors show;KEYS 1 -12X*, Y*, Z, DIR, THRO, A, B, H, S, PITCH* TOGGLE 1-6TRIM +*,-*(* used by the yoke.)(CAVEAT)I have been using the Microsoft Force Feedback 2 joystick exclusively since it was first released, and nothing else. (I have a brand new un-opened MSFFB2 still sitting in the cupboard ready for use when my old one packs up.) Nothing beats it for fighter aircraft. Only when I took a flight in a dedicated B737 flight simulator (non-motion) did I realise how accurately a yoke translates into proper inputs. (/CAVEAT)The following photos are distorted by focal point but at least you get to see the machinations of the yoke.EDIT IN PROGRESS...

[BrassEm 0]

EDIT IN PROGRESS... Continued...Only after taking the photos and checking did I realise how badly the autofocus on the camera worked. The yoke is resting on a large white sheet of high impact plastic foam that came as part of the packaging.Externals...A nylock nut and bolt is used to attach the handle onto the shaft.The internal layout of the Yoke assembly.Lots of free connectors on the PCB!The linear and rotary pot for the pitch and roll.The pitch trim wheel assembly.EDIT IN PROGRESS...

[BrassEm 0]

EDIT IN PROGRESS... Continued...I am very happy with this joystick and it looks like its got plenty of potential to add more functionality to it further down the track.Cheers,.