Hi all,

 

I'm considering buying Saitek's Pro Flight Yoke System, but I've got a few questions before I make my final decision.

 

I will be mostly flying the PMDG 737, the upcoming PMDG 777 and some single prop GA aircraft. Is it possible to control both engines separately? Does the yoke come with an extra black throttle cap? I'd like to replace the blue cap with a black cap when flying aircraft with 2 engines. And finally I wonder if it is possible to assign 2 functions to 1 lever. Take a look at this picture of the yoke.

 

Is it possible to control the speedbrakes AND the flaps with the red lever? So let's say when the toggle switch is in T5 mode you can control the speedbrakes and in T6 mode you can control the flaps. Is something like that possible with some software, let's say FSUIPC?

Looking forward to the answer!

 

Greetings,

DutchWings

I do not understand what you mean T5 mode or T6 mode...

 

The switch T5/T6 is a rocker switch. I don't know if you can switch between different assignments to the red slider axis...

 

I have the Cessna version of the Saitek Pro Yoke/Quadrant. I assigned flaps up (incremental) to T5 and flaps down (incremental) to T6...

 

You might be able to assign different things to each switch/axis by changing the mode via the FUNCTION button on the yoke though... whether that only affects switches or the quadrant levers as well, I cannot say...

 

It does not come with extra different coloured lever caps... you can buy a second quadrant if you wish You can assign the engines searately to different levers, also with FSUIPC...

 

A

Ahswin, as far as I know you cannot put a lever into different "modes" by changing the mode on the yoke or pressing some button. 

 

My advice to you is to take the simple route if you have the space for it, and simply buy another throttle unit. You can get one from aviationmegastore at 59 euros so it's pretty cheap. THEN you can start setting up the sim to your hearts content using the bought version of FSUIPC.

 

Personally I use my two saitek throttle units for flying single engined jets and props as well as multi engined and with a pletoria of different setups (reverse thrust on a lever or on a button, mixture, prop, flaps, speedbrakes you  name it). In FSUIPC I simply create a setup for a certain type of aircraft, say four engined jet and save it as a profile in FSUIPC and then assign the profile to any four engined jet I want to fly. I also have the Saitek yoke connected to the computer as the same time as a Saitek X45 (joystick with throttle) and it works absolutely flawlessly. I might for eg fly the RA Lancair with the X45 throttle unit and saitek joystick and then just grab the throttle quadrant and Saitek yoke and continue flying! Not that I do just that, but I could if I wanted to!

Those 'T' rocker switches are not for different TQ modes, instead they are programmable buttons for use in FSX.

 

Regarding the throttle knobs, it does not come with extra black knobs, instead you will need to purchase a second TQ, which is highly recommended.

 

The yoke is a great bit of equipment and have been using mine for about 6 years now with no issues.

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't know it was a rocker switch, I thought it was a toggle switch. I might consider buying an extra quadrant seen the positive feedback on a dual quadrant setup. Thanks again!

Another question. I have 67,0 cm (length) available for equipment on my desk, will the yoke + extra TQ fit?

 

 

Please ignore the mess

Mess? You need to see my desk as a comparison

 

Check the depth, ie, how much space you have from the long edge to where your keyboard will sit...

 

It might also be a bit tight for your legs too... given the attachment system

 

A

Yoke is just under 12" to the monitor - that should help you quadrant no problem

You will also sooner or later be investing in a rudder pedal too! I also think it might be a cramped with regards to the knees and the width of the free space. Is that a fixed cabinet underneath or on wheels?

I already have the rudder pedals under my desk, but you can't see them here. And I've checked with the depth, it fits. The picture doesn't display the desk's complete depth, but it's bigger than that. I just wanted to know if the yoke and 2 quadrants would fit with 67 cm of "clamp" space.

v

The Cessna yoke is approx 29 cm and each throttle quadrant is approx 10 cm so the full array should take up just under 50 cm.  I believe the Saitek yokes are of the same size as there are additional Saitek panels that can be mounted to them.  They will fit in the space you have available and you will have a bit of room to spare.

 

I also see you have a round desk leg in the area.  Just thinking out loud here for a minute....  The throttle quads have threaded metal bushings on the bottom.  That could allow you to mount them to a separate surface and use a clamp to mount to the desk.  That could allow you to mount the quadrants lower for a more realistic spacing.  I have been envisioning how I could do just that, but I have a tier of drawers there,

I never had good results with the TQ that came with the Yoke.  It has a different connector than the standalone TQ's that means it can only be plugged in to the yoke itself, not any old USB port.  I could never get it to work right and I think it just was never getting the power it needed through the Yoke.  I ended up tossing it away into a box of junk, and then buying 2 new standalone TQ's with regular USB connectors that could be plugged directly into the back of my computer.  Might have just been a bad unit, but just letting you know that you might actually want to get 2 additional TQ's right from the start, not just 1.  If the original one that comes with the yoke ends up working fine, then all the better.  You'll always be able to find use for an extra TQ.

 

 

Might have just been a bad unit,

 

Likely the case.  I have not had trouble with the quadrant that came with the yoke but I have had power issues with the yoke's USB ports.  My yoke does not reliably power devices connected to it's ports.  I purchased the official Saitek external power supply for the yoke to correct that issue and found oddly that when I try to use the power supply the yoke supplies less power to USB devices.  Case in point, the display of my Saitek Multi Panel actually dims when connected to the yoke when the power supply is connected to the yoke.  I got authorization from Saitek to send it in for warranty repairs but the turnaround time of 6 - 8 weeks and the shipping costs led me to add a separate powered USB module to my system instead.

About the extra knobs question, I purchased my units quite a while ago so the memory is not real good, but I have extra knobs that came with one of my units, either the original purchase with the yoke and the TQ as a package, or when I purchased the second TQ. It came with 2 black, 1 red and 1 blue extras. There is also a handle bar that will connect 4 levers together.

 

You can program two functions for one lever if you want. You mentioned flaps with spoilers. That would not be wise as you don't want spoilers up when setting different flaps settings. They need to be independent functions. Thus the need for two TQs.

 

Jim  

The extra knobs come with the stand alone TQ  not with the yoke/tq combo.