Hi,

 

After a 2 year break from FSX, 5/6 months ago I decided to get back in again. I purchased FSX:SE, but soon found that my Saitek Cyborg X was well and truly broken (Constant spiking of nearly every axis).

 

I was somewhat unimpressed with how my Saitek product lasted, and as an avid racing fan and owning the Logitech G27 as well as various other Logitech products, and with their reputation for quality I brought the Extreme 3D Pro, to tie me over.

 

Whilst I am incredibly impressed by the Logitech - the only thing I dislike is the little throttle, I feel as though this is not realistic, and I struggle to get a full grasp of what my aircraft is doing. I mainly fly the PMDG NGX and the A2A C172, both of which are amazing aircraft, and they both use a yoke.

 

So I'd like to know what is the best controller I can get ? I am currently learning to be a private pilot, so realism is key, but what is the best?

 

My budget isn't huge, but I'm willing to pay for quality. I see saitek are the front runners, but with my previous experiences I'm not overly confident.

 

I look forward to your help!

 

Kind Regards

George Hunt

You could look at the VR Insight Flight Master II, which is an intermediate-priced yoke. The Saitek yokes are poor so make sure you do your research. If you really want a cheap one I would recommend CH Products. If you really want a good yoke you need to look at PFC or Elite (second-hand only), Yoko or maybe GoFlight.

Thank you very much, which one would you personally buy for around £100-£200?

Thank you very much, which one would you personally buy for around £100-£200?

 

I have both the CH Eclipse and the Saitek Pro Flight. Of the two, the Eclipse wins. However, I would likely buy the lower-priced CH Flight Yoke, on the presumption that it has the same internals. You will lose a few buttons and the 'paddle' style rudder axis, but that's all.

So Saitek is a no go ?

So Saitek is a no go ?

 

Well a lot of people have them but I would not recommend the Saitek yoke. If you want the detail, click on my banner and look for my flight yoke reviews.

So Saitek is a no go ?

 

Take a look here for a comparison of the two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g34mLpFs3fE. I briefly had the Saitek Pro Flight Cessna Yoke (returned it) and agree with the assessment in the comparison. Although the Cessna model is better made and has a slightly different internal mechanism compared to the standard yoke, they both have the same fundamental design flaw which stops them, in my opinion, from being usable for precision control. The stainless steel shaft has a slot along each side in which runs the roll sensor mechanism. Whilst roll response always feels smooth, pitch response is only smooth with no roll input. With any roll applied, the added friction of the roll sensor mechanism means that fine pitch control is almost impossible and becomes quite notchy, most noticeably near the neutral point of the spring centring where fine control is most needed.

My set-up for over four years and I'm very happy with it:  CH Eclipse Yoke; CH throttle Quadrant and CH Pro-pedals.  Mainly fly A2A for P3Dv3, and the occasional corporate jet.  Works fine for everything.  Total CH package is about $500 US. I used to have Saitek combat pedals, which I prefer to the CH, but my present set up doesn't permit the combat's extra width.  I think the Saitek are about $80-90 more than the CH Pro-pedals.  Never used Saitek yoke or throttle quadrant, and the other, higher end control set-ups are well out of my reach.

You could look at the VR Insight Flight Master II, which is an intermediate-priced yoke. The Saitek yokes are poor so make sure you do your research. If you really want a cheap one I would recommend CH Products. If you really want a good yoke you need to look at PFC or Elite (second-hand only), Yoko or maybe GoFlight.

Hey Mark, I've really wanting to upgrade from my Saitek yoke, which now feels like a toy, having sampled a friend's (can't remember the brand). I was looking into getting the VR Insight Flight Master II after seeing priced at only €395 on it's own website. Unfortunately it was sold out. The resellers I looked at were charging at least €480- does that sound right to you. Also, is it significantly larger than the Saitek?

I do realise that this leaves me without TQ, so maybe I might just be better investing in throttle mods for the Saitek.

Did you build your own throttle mods?

Cheers,

Did you build your own throttle mods?

 

I have no direct experience of the Flight Master so I can't say much more than I have. It does look bigger than the Saitek, though! Throttle quads - no, I did not do anything to mine. They are wearing out so I will probably need to find something better before long

I would agree with the Saitek comments, frustrating to use for precise pitch axis input. I did the spring mod which helps but in the end still not satisfactory and does not feel like an actual control yoke.Frankly a joystick would be a better option for smooth pitch and roll inputs but I want a yoke for P3D use so I have a PFC Cirrus yoke arriving this week.

https://www.facebook.com/Aircraftcontrolengineering/

 

$450 usd for desktop yoke

 

D