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I swapped out my tired old Saitek yoke for a PFC Beechcraft one. Not one bit of regret. The only thing I miss is a hat, but it forced me to better utilize TrackIR.

Highly recommended.

Kevin



-.- . ...- .. -.
Kevin Conlon
Pharmacist, Pilot and Parrot Head

I9-9900K  4.9GHz | RTX 2080 TI FE | 27" Asus Monitors x 3| MSI Z370 | Crucial M.2 NVMe 1TB | Samsung SSD 500GB x 2 | Toshiba HDD 2TB | WDC HDD 2TB | 32 GB DDR4 3600C17 | Windows 10

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I purchased the saab yoke because I wanted more switches but you will love the quailty of any of them. It was a purchase I,m glad I made. This yoke is really well made and makes flying fun. My advice is go for it....

Tom

Tom Davis

 

I7 6700k 4.7 ghz, gtx 1080ti , 16gb 3400 ram, 32’’ 2k monitor, 1TB ssd, 500gb ssd, 250gb ssd, h115 water cooler

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By far the best flight controller I've ever used.  Extremely well built - it'll last you through several computer builds.  One suggestion - as long as you're upgrading to PFC, if you can, pay a bit extra for the version with the Hall Effect sensors.  It's (even) more precise and it'll last longer since there are fewer moving parts.  

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Hall Effect sensors?? What are those?

 

Im using mostly Prepar 3D V2 and Xplane 10.

 

Does it work with these softwares?

 

 

Hall Effect sensors are simply a replacement for the more traditional (and low cost) potentiometers used in a controller axis. Rather than using essentially a variable resistor, it uses magnetic field measurements to determine axis movement. The bad: more expensive (for PFC, ~ $100 more). The good: Consistently more precise, and more importantly, you don't run into the same component degradation issues over time as you would with normal pots (potentiometers). End result: If you're investing in PFC hardware, get the Hall Effect add-on. P3D/XP/FSX is irrelevant with with regards to Hall Effect/Non-Hall Effect. We're deep into the hardware level, so your sim doesn't care.

 

With regards to PFC..... Best sim investment I've made thus far. Just as Tom Davis mentioned, I purchased the Saab yoke for the additional buttons. I also picked up a throttle quadrant, and while it initially hurt (wallet-wise), I've never looked back. The precision and smoothness is really unmatched in the bulk hardware market at its respective price-point. Granted I've a few personal "design" issues with the PFC stuff, none of them remotely impact usability.

 

Here are a couple pics of my current rig (also look at my next post in that thread as well as Ive done some drilling into the yoke case... voiding any warranty, but met my needs):

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/398427-tablechair-to-improve-sim-experience/?p=2592627

 

To summarize: PFC gear is quite a step up from TM or Saitek hardware. If you're going to make the step, spend the money on Hall Effect sensors, and while it will likely hurt the wallet for awhile, you will be NOTHING but pleased with the investment!

 

If you have any questions, just let me know.

_________________________________
-Dan Everette
CFI, CFII, MEI

7900X OC @ 4.8GHz | ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional | 2 x EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 (SLI) | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 2800

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Ordered my Cirrus II Yoke with Hall effects.  B)

 

Was tempted to order the throttle quadrant with the Vernier Cessna controls but that quadrant alone would have cost close to $1,000  :O 


How do I attach this yoke to my computer desk?

 

I dont see it has the same as the Saitek which works good, it doesnt move at all.

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Industrial-strength Velcro worked for me.

I did the same thing works great... Congrats on your purchase you will love it...

Tom

Tom Davis

 

I7 6700k 4.7 ghz, gtx 1080ti , 16gb 3400 ram, 32’’ 2k monitor, 1TB ssd, 500gb ssd, 250gb ssd, h115 water cooler

UAL440.png

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got my Cirrus Yoke with hall effects upgrade.

How do I calibrate it?

The elevator has minimal travel and the roll is very slow.

 

I recieved with no drivers or manual since it arrived at my sister's house and if those came theya re probably lost now :(

 

I tried calibrating thru windows and no luck.

 

Prepar 3D V2.2 

Windows 7 64 Bit

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My ears perk up every time I see a PFC thread; I kinda sorta want one, but then every time I start looking at the price, then I start thinking yet again about building my own.  And then I start thinking that I don't really have the time to do that, and then I'm back to square one, still with my not-quite-satisfying Saitek in my simpit. ^_^

 

Anyways.  A quick perusal of the PFC website reveals that they have links to drivers, product manuals and calibration utilities for all of their yokes.

 

https://flypfc.com/?/customer-service/product-manuals/

Jim Stewart

Milviz Person.

 

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Got my Cirrus Yoke with hall effects upgrade.

How do I calibrate it?

The elevator has minimal travel and the roll is very slow.

 

I recieved with no drivers or manual since it arrived at my sister's house and if those came theya re probably lost now :(

 

I tried calibrating thru windows and no luck.

 

Prepar 3D V2.2 

Windows 7 64 Bit

 

I ran mine through the Windows calibration routine, then did the final calibration in FSUIPC (the paid version that allows controller calibration).  If I recall correctly, I had similar issues with the initial windows calibration, especially in the elevator axis.  The PFC yoke is heavier and stiffer than some of the others, and has a longer "throw" (that is, more travel is required to achieve an effect).  I went back and repeated the Windows calibration, making sure the second time around to really yank back on the yoke and make sure it was pulled all the way back as far as it would go.  It took so much force that I had to keep one hand on the console, in spite of the velcro.  But the performance was fine after that.  I've never had to deflect it like that in game, although when landing in a gusty crosswind, I sometimes have to throw the aileron axis almost all the way to the stops.

 

In FSX or P3D, you may find that you need to apply more deflection than you're used to, but the benefit is much finer control for things like flares, and the responsiveness mirrors that of real-world controllers.  I remember when the A2A Cessna 172 first came out, people were having trouble with excessive elevator response.  I had no such problems. When Scott of A2A posted a video comparing real-world footage of the yoke to the in-game version, many people were reporting that their Saitek and CH yokes took much less travel than the real one in the video.  I ran my own test by replicating the maneuvers and found that the PFC yoke almost exactly mirrored the movement of the aircraft yoke throughout.  

 

If full deflection of the elevator axis doesn't get you calibrated, there may be some other issue, but I'd bet that the windows calibration is just recording less travel and leaving some of the movement out of the picture.

 

As always, hope this is helpful.  

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I have tried that in Windows calibration and the elevator movement is erratic, just doesnt work, I pushed it all the way in, all the way out and in the calibration window the travel is tiny.

Tried thru FSUIPC and no luck either.

Downloaded the drivers and when I check it says NO COM .

 

Ailerons work good though.

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Downloaded the drivers and when I check it says NO COM .

 

Hmmm.  I hate to bail, but it sounds like a question for PFC tech support.  If the unit had potentiometers, I'd suggest looking at them to see if one of them has come loose from its mounts (happened to me with another controller).  But with the Hall Effect sensors that wouldn't be an issue - unless they're subject to some similar kind of displacement.  Will have to defer to more experienced hands here.  Sorry I don't have more of an answer for you.  Let us know what the issue turns out to be.

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