ACE Desktop 777 Yoke

[MadDogMan 7]

I searched high and low to find pictures of the internal components of the ACE desktop yokes, never found a thing. SO! Here are a few pictures of mine that i received today from Aviation Megastore.

ACE Aircraft Controls Engineering

Is the maker of these units. My review of them as a company is one star, communication is horrid. Its almost impossible to get information about the yokes from them, In the box they don't offer and further form of communication other than a email address for " Daryl". If you don't agree to my opinion of them as a company, Do some googling and you will find MANY others with the same complaints. Any more i am becoming bothered by these flight sim component companies that think it is acceptable to sell things for $500+ and have Zero phone support.

 ACE is a Facebook only company, You want to order from them? They say go to Facebook and do it. OR email Daryl. Problem is, I don't have Facebook. Nor do i want it. I tried to email Daryl at ACE for almost a month and never heard back, and when i eventually did, It was one word style responses.  Finally i went to the Aviation Megastore site and they had one in stock, I ordered it immediately and had it 4 days later all the way from the Netherlands to Washington state. Aviation Megastore is awesome.

My point is, ACE as a company store front just plain sucks.....  Now, The yoke its self.

It came packaged VERY well, The fit and finish of the yoke handle and case is very nice. Its ALL metal and feels amazing. No detents of any kind, Nice heavy feel throughout inputs with no drag. Very smooth. It completely changes the experience coming from 8 years of Saitek yoke.

Inside the case is lots of metal and heavy gearing, built fairly well. The wiring is not bad, could be a bit better done for the cost. They use a Leo Bodnar BU0836A 12-Bit Joystick Controller for the interface and that's a GREAT product, very good designed controller hardware and long lasting. The yoke is Heavy! every part of it is made out of thicker than needs to be metal so it feels amazing in the hand and to use. The mount bolts to the bottom with 4 machine screws, the only issue i have with the mounting is they need to move it back just a inch or so as it makes the yoke handle too close to the desk and if you use large yoke inputs you can hit your hand or even the PTT button on the desk.

 The yoke travel for elevator movement is very good and long. The aileron travel is about 60 degrees or so either direction. Similar to the Saitek pro flight yoke, maybe a little more.

Buttons, The 777 yoke has 3. PTT, Autopilot disco and elevator trim. The switches all feel ok. Not the best but far from the worse. Much better than anything saitek makes. The trim switch emulates the dual switches of the real world yoke but is only wired to one input so you can move just one of the rockers and the trim will work. Both rockers move independently .

The chart clip is nice, seems build ok. No issue with it.

The yoke base / mechanism housing is much skinnier than the Saitek. About the same depth and height.

It comes with a USB cord, A one page set up guide and a extra yoke clipboard sticker.

Set up was non existent, plug it in and the sim sees it and works perfect.

I now have about 6 landings in with it from the 777 to the 182 to a DC3. It has completely changed my experience and i wish i did this a very long time ago. Price wise they are about $450 US and free shipping if you can get them strait from ACE. I was told 4-5 weeks for one and went to the Store i mentioned above and got one the same week. This thing seems to built well for the cost and i hope it lasts a long time. So far i have really enjoyed how it feels. Increased the immersion factor ten fold.

If you look at the price of a Saitek yoke now and the YOKO yoke. This seems to be a great middle ground. I wish ACE would try harder with there communication and store front as that part of the experience makes me shy away from recommending them. But, They do make a cool product for not a heck of a lot more than the plastic Saitek crap we all have had or have.

If you have been on the fence about getting one. Do it. It will make you smile ear to ear after that first landing.

Here are some pictures of the inner workings and how it was shipped.

 

 

[Mike A 337]

Thanks for this post.  I have the same concern about their lack of communication.  May I ask you something about it that they couldn't/wouldn't answer?  I'd like to know the dimensions of the yoke housing, the black box that holds the gears/springs/electronics, so I can get a sense of it's scale.  Thanks!

Mike A.

[MadDogMan 7]

10" deep. not including the shaft that comes out of the rear shown in the above pics. That adds 3" at max elevator down.

6 1/4" Wide

3 3/4" Tall

 

 

[Wise87 1,275]

5 minutes ago, MadDogMan said:

10" deep. not including the shaft that comes out of the rear shown in the above pics. That adds 3" at max elevator down.

6 1/4" Wide

3 3/4" Tall

 

 

Thanks for the measurements. I've been trying to get the accurate numbers for a week now. Another user on FB provided me some but this is exactly what I needed. 

[MadDogMan 7]

Anytime, If they got there Stuff together and had a proper store front and customer support it would be a GREAT company since they have a good product already for a good price.

[Mike A 337]

Thanks for the measurements (including pictures), excellent.  You should bill ACE for providing Public Relations support !

Mike A.

[MadDogMan 7]

I would try it but i wouldn't get a response for a few months!

[Garys 209]

On ‎2017‎-‎05‎-‎09 at 8:17 PM, Wise87 said:

The last official word I got from Darryl on the status of my order was "Your order is being boxed up and prepared for shipping". This was on May 6th. He did say they had 147 orders to ship out so will see when mine arrives or not. After this I'll probably won't see it now. 

That is exactly the same response I received about my overdue order. Communication has been absolutely terrible. Despite the nice products I can say I would not recommend purchasing directly and look for online retailers that have stock. That would be the best way as the leopard that is ACE definitely has not changed its spots!

[Angelo Cosma 61]

16 hours ago, MadDogMan said:

I would try it but i wouldn't get a response for a few months!

Hey MadDogMan whereabouts in WA are you? 

[MadDogMan 7]

In the wet part. Hour south of Bellingham.

[Wise87 1,275]

8 hours ago, Garys said:

That is exactly the same response I received about my overdue order. Communication has been absolutely terrible. Despite the nice products I can say I would not recommend purchasing directly and look for online retailers that have stock. That would be the best way as the leopard that is ACE definitely has not changed its spots!

Just wondering if you received yours yet? I'm approach 7 weeks this weekend. So much the the 4 to 6 week estimate. Only reason I'm still waiting is I order the 737 yoke with a hat switch. The only retailer that normally carries them is estimating June and his don't carry the hat switch. 

[Garys 209]

No not yet, I'm actually about to make a claim with paypal. I'm sick of this crap.

[Wise87 1,275]

On 5/12/2017 at 3:49 PM, Garys said:

No not yet, I'm actually about to make a claim with paypal. I'm sick of this crap.

I don't blame you. As it stands right now I'm still without a yoke. I was contacted by ACE on May 10 that my yoke order was complete and ready to ship. They informed me that it was sitting by the door and would go out the following week between Wednesday and Friday (May 17 - 19). Well apparently that didn't happen because now it looks like another week before pickup by UPS which from past postings is only Wed - Fri. So if my math is correct that will have been 14 days for an order I was told was ready for pickup back on May 10. I originally placed my order on March 26. From what I'm being told it's up to UPS for picking up the orders. Maybe a UPS manifest expert can explain how that works with large orders. Do they only pick up a few at a time on certain days? 

Edited May 20, 2017 by Wise87

[BuddyDog 36]

Nope.  If you have your shipping label and paid UPS, they come and pick it up when it is ready.

 

Maybe in ACE land, UPS, money and calendars work differently. 

[Wise87 1,275]

Well finally some good news. I received my tracking information and the yoke is on the way. Even though the process took 2 months I look forward to using it based on the other positive reviews.