What about folks flying planes using joysticks?

 

Such as Airbuses?

 

My PFC unit is 11 years old and still going strong. It has needed some repairs in that time but mechanically it is very robust. Like all our stuff though - it does rely on software and firmware. Those are the areas where I've had problems.

Wow, I can't believe people are comparing a $600 yoke to a $100.. if a Saitek only lasts three years that's 15 years or so before you've paid more than the more expensive one. Assuming the more expensive one hasn't broke before then, too, in which case now you can have 30 years of Saitek for the same price. Also, the Saitek turns 90 degrees, something I wish PFC's would do.

 

They are nice, I am sure, but I just get sad when people treat $400-500 like it's nothing. BTW, I've had my Saitek for well over a year and it's great and I prefer it to the CH model although neither is perfect.

I have this exact same problem with mine. I can fix it every time by unplugging and repluging in the Tom then calibrating it through windows devices/printers by going through its full range of motion 3 or 4 times. After that it works perfect. Just have to do it every reboot unfortunately.

My CH yoke is 3 yrs old and I fly 1000's of hours a yr! cant see any difference from the day it was born. Not all of us can budget 8 or 900.00 yokes! That needs to be kept in mind when making suggestions and comments.

Some people have been very lucky with there Pro flight yokes and others have not. Im in the group that has not, mine has had loads of issues, so much so its unusable. I think those who are lucky with there pro flight yokes have one that is made by Saitek and those who issues have the ones made by Madcatz.

 

Madcatz for those who dont know are a budget controller maker ( well they are in the UK ) and that does reflect in the quality of Saitek branded products now. They are starting to phase out the Saitek branded logo for those who dont know.

 

My advise to anyone thinking of buying any Saitek branded yokes or rudder pedals, is don't, save up your money for something better they are no longer suitable for flight sim unless you get very very lucky with one. The calibration drift that people suffer from is not fixable ( they blame windows for the issue but i believe its a hardware issue or a driver issue ), every time you start you pc you will have the calibration drift issue and FSUIPC wont help fix it.

 

When the shaft on the yoke starts sticking it makes the yoke useless as you lose fine control on landing and fixing it when its out of warranty is near impossible.

 

Even the rudder pedals can now suffer from sticking which is not good for when you taxi and you need to make small control inputs.

 

If there was new reviews out there on them i dont think they would even get a score anymore as they are designed for short term use, not the 100's of hours we tend to fly, the plastic tubing they put in and call "precision bearings" is proof they are not made to last in my eye's and i class it as a false statement by them on the product.

 

If they used real bearings instead of plastic tubes then it would be the best yoke in its price grouping even with the calibration drift issue.

Ok, so I got a Saitek Pro Yoke, which immediately started aggrivating me by means of poor roll response; it would register a turn to the right almost immediately, but a turn to the left would need 10 degrees or so of travel before registering.

 

Saitek (Mad Catz) took it back and "fixed" it, which only lasted about a day. Unfortunately, I can no longer seem to be able to contact them...

 

Anyway, can FSUIPC help with anything like this? I am also assuming it's a hardware issue but I'm not sure.

 

thanks,

Andrew

 

Andrew,

 

I just bought the Pro Flight yesterday and was having the same problem. After some research, this is what worked for me:

 

In fsx.cfg under [controls] add this value: stick_sensitivity_mode=0. Now in your control menu in FSX make sure sensitivity is turned up to 100% in both pitch and roll axis, and null is set at 0.

 

Please give this a shot. It fixed the late response inputs COMPLETELY. See this thread for details:

 

http://forum.avsim.n...lider-settings/

 

Cheers

 

Andrew

In fsx.cfg under [controls]

 

Thanks, but I can't find fsx.cft -or- [controls]. I'm sure I'm looking in the wrong place... where can I find it?

C:\Users\Andy\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX

 

Substitute your name for 'Andy'

 

{Controls} is a section withing the fsx.cfg file

Regarding the dis on Saitek gear, and pumping PFC, I'm gonna chime in. I've owned the PFC Aeti branded desktop version that had the Saab yoke on it, the PFC Jetliner Yoke Saab version, and the PFC Cirrus pedals with the aluminum upgrade. They all three had problems. The AETI would tend to stick in the elevator axis making fine control very frustrating, it was actually worse that my current Saitek Cessna Yoke in this regard.. The Jetliner's rocker switches on one side stopped working and the switch itself fell out of the yoke. I inspected the soldering, and the joints had been cold soldered, looked like a 3 year old did the work, PFC were very rude when I contacted them on the problem. Though the Jetliner did function smooth in both axis, it just never felt right for GA planes. The Cirrus pedals were über beefy, but we're constantly in need of physical adjustment and recalibration.

 

I sold everything off and ended up moving into commercial military aviation simulators for a living. Now I'm retired and messing around with FSX again. Bought the Saitek Cessna full suite last year and actually have more enjoyment using it than I did my PFC gear. Everything just works, stays calibrated (no drift) and didn't cost nearly as much, and the Cessna yoke feels darn close to the real world counter parts I've used. Sure they're not perfect, the Saitek elevator axis needs some graphite every now and then to keep it smooth, and doesn't have enough fore aft movement in FSX no matter how I adjust it, but it's really not useless junk at all considering it's cost.

 

The only high end gear I would be willing to try these days would be the Flightlink AVA, but with the Realair Lancair Legacy out which I'm just totally into, the Carenado Cirrus SR22 coming out soon, the A2A Cub and P51, I'm back to my ol trusty ambidextrous CH flight stick pro. Thinking of replacing the grip with a nice wood Cirrus style one from Aircraft Spruce. It along with the Saitek Cessna pedals, Trim wheel, and TPM Vernier throttles have made cruising these GA's a blast.

 

Chris

My first Saitek yoke has lasted mor that 6 yrs so far an never been a problem. Telling someone to toss it is stupid. You need to think before you jump Word Not Allowed..............John

I'd have more respect for Saitek if they'd follow up on customer service issues.

 

We already have enough 3rd party vendors who "take the money and run" - they should invest some of the budget they use to market the products into support instead.

 

It's too bad CH didn't have the same build quality in their flight yoke as they did in their Flightstick. I'd have gladly paid more for that.

I would have more respect for Madcatz ( Saitek ) if they produced a quality yoke that was fit for purpose and they remove the false claim from their promotional materiel.

 

I have the Saitek Pro flight yoke and the renamed Madcatz Cyborg X joystick and both are rubbish and not fit for flight sim.

The calibration drift that people suffer from is not fixable ( they blame windows for the issue but i believe its a hardware issue or a driver issue ), every time you start you pc you will have the calibration drift issue and FSUIPC wont help fix it.

 

I guess that depends on what you mean by "help fix". Without FSUIPC, when this would occur I'd have to unplug, replug and recalibrate. With FSUIPC, I unplug and replug - takes a second or so and no recalibration is necessary. What was once a substantial pain is now a minor issue. And the ability to add custom curves on top of fine-tuned calibration transforms the yoke yet again.

 

FSUIPC has to be one of the most unglamorous FSX add-ons out there - but it's also one of the very best.

 

Scott

Despite what has been said, saitek makes quality products for the prices they charge.

 

I've had my saitek yoke, dual throttle quads and pedals for 2+ years with no issues.

 

The comment to throw them away was based on the author's personal opinion and NOT fact.

I want to chip in as well. My Saitek yoke/throttle/quadrant, have been problem free for the past 3+ years and counting. I think the comment about throwing it away and get yourself a $600 yoke is pretty ridiculous.

 

That's like telling people who complain about FSX, to throw it away and get yourself a Level-D full motion simulator.