Fulcrum Yoke demonstrated at Cosford FS Show

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

@MarkDH, the spread of the throttle axes means it would be difficult to fly a 4 engine jet such as Concorde. The configuration of the Saitek allows this by having different throttle caps. But I agree the TQ6 is otherwise excellent and a big step up.

And the small point of no buttons on the TQ6 is unfortunate. We all need those for configuring various commands. Having just bought a pair of Saitek throttles those will do until something else comes along.

[jon b 2,047]

Thanks again Ray, I hope yourself and other seasoned swimmers can give some input and fine tuning before the product goes fixed and we might finally have the yoke we’ve been waiting for. 

‘The Yoko now comes with a hat switch is seems.

I’ll hang fire and put up with ballooned landings for a few more months and see how things pan out.

 

cheers

 

jon

[tutmeister 709]

Hi all, thanks for the interest and thanks to Ray for posting about our yoke!

I’m happy to answer any questions so feel free to ask away but I’ll try and answer what has already been asked.

Firstly, size matters and this is something we are working on. As Ray said, I did say it had a lot of air in there and it does, it will be narrower shorter and less deep by at least an inch and maybe more. I’m working on optimising how everything fits together so I won’t post sizes just yet but will let you know soon. The angled front also makes it look a bit bigger than it is and the production one will have a vertical panel. My aim has always been to make it fit into a saitek sized hole so let’s see what we can do.

The lag mentioned earlier is actually due to a2a’s Cherokee and is very accurate. The Cherokee is a very stable trainer and does not react like a fighter jet. If you look at the Cherokee’s Ailerons while moving the yoke they respond perfectly in line with the yoke movement.  I love flying it as it feels very like the warrior I’m training in. I will make a video showing the p3d f22 and you will see there is no lag. Also there is no lag in the windows controller properties page when moving the yoke.

Mounting is either by drilling your desk or stand and bolting into the threaded inserts or by using an under desk clamp which I did not have at the show as it is part of the production design.

Travel and motion - As Ray said, as he spent a decent amount of time on it 😉, it is very smooth with a linear increase in resistance as it reaches the extremities of travel. It is not force feedback as this is not something that can be done convincingly at an affordable price. Affordable is subjective of course but I’ve paid a lot for hardware over the years and been disappointed. I’m not building this to a price like the honeycomb as I started on this project after failing to be satisfied with home use yokes but I’m also conscious that £1000 yokes are beyond the reach of most people. Effectively I had a wish list of what a GA yoke needs and I’m trying to fulfill them. On that note, once released and if it does reasonably well, the next planned release will be an airliner type of yoke that can be swapped with the current GA one. Travel is 200mm or 8” on the pitch axis and 180 degrees on the roll axis. If you look on our Facebook page you will see a post of a bit of research. One morning I went round the hanger and measured yoke movement on a few types as I wanted it to be accurate, after all, it is one of the first things everyone comments on when they have a first lesson in a GA type.

Hopefully this post has answered a few of your questions but feel free to ask on here or on Facebook.

Thanks again for the interest.

Chris

[oemlegoem 29]

Hello Chris

First of all, congratulations for the new exciting development.

Could you divulge if you are using bungee cords or metal springs for the roll/pitch resistance? 

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

17 minutes ago, oemlegoem said:

Hello Chris

First of all, congratulations for the new exciting development.

Could you divulge if you are using bungee cords or metal springs for the roll/pitch resistance? 

Sorry to jump in but they’re steel springs. Definitely not bungee cords.

[tutmeister 709]

Oemlegoem, thanks for the kind words. Yes Ray is right, steel springs of different types used throughout. Ray is definitely an expert on this as he grilled me on two separate occasions through the day!

Only joking Ray, it was great talking to you and nice to chat with a fellow enthusiast.

Chris

 

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

Sorry Chris. I’ll stop jumping in when the question is directed at you. 😀

Your yoke made quite an impression on me. That’s why I remembered so much. One question regarding the alternative handles you will introduce at a later date. How do they attach to the steel shaft? A simple screw arrangement? And the same number of buttons etc?

I’m guessing you have a standard USB port at the rear.

[pmb 5,137]

2 hours ago, tutmeister said:

My aim has always been to make it fit into a saitek sized hole so let’s see what we can do.

Thanks. That would make me a potential customer.

Kind regards, Michael

[tutmeister 709]

Please keep jumping in if you can answer someone, I can’t be on avsim as much as I’d like!

Yes good point, it is a standard usb on the rear. At the moment it is a single Allen key to remove the yoke with a plug the you need to disconnect. I’m considering a tool less option but have yet to work out or source an ideal solution.

Chris

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

Hi Chris,

I know you had a temporary fix for the yoke at the show and I know you intend to move to a desk clamp for the production version. I will be interested to know the details of this when you have finalised the design.

Something very similar to the Saitek would be ideal for me. And it goes without saying not the system Honeycomb are proposing with a membrane stuck to a surface and the yoke attached to the membrane.

Given the longer shaft of your yoke will apply more force than the shorter Saitek it's vital the clamp is strong enough to hold the unit without it moving. I have faith that you will come up with a suitable design. 👍

[tutmeister 709]

Don’t worry Ray it will stay put and use a fairly uninspiring table clamp.

Chris

[MartinRex007 390]

Ray, thanks for the post. Will be following this development closely. Glad that Chris has suggested changeable yoke handles, often wondered why no one has offered this before. Any chance there will be a US distributor?

Cheers

Martin

[tutmeister 709]

On 10/7/2018 at 1:49 PM, jalbino59 said:

Hi Ray, thanks for the video. looking at the response between your control movements and screen, it seems to be lagging behind quite a bit especially with deflections at higher speeds (such as in steep descents shown). Physical movement looks very smooth though.  

Hi Martin, I don’t yet know as I have not approached anyone yet. Firstly I need to get it available through our web shop. I absolutely will be providing a shipping option to the USA though.

I have put another few updates on the Facebook page including a video to address the observation Jose made, this shows the movement mapping 1 to 1 with the sim controls without lag in xplane and prepar3d and also the difference in reponse of different aircraft.

Chris

[jalbino59 114]

10 minutes ago, tutmeister said:

I have put another few updates on the Facebook page including a video to address the observation Jose made, this shows the movement mapping 1 to 1 with the sim controls without lag in xplane and prepar3d and also the difference in reponse of different aircraft

Very nice! Having a proper perspective makes all the difference! Thanks for the video.  

[MarkDH 234]

On 10/7/2018 at 6:28 PM, Ray Proudfoot said:

The Yoko looks okay although the case is a little on the large size but it's the lack of a hat switch I didn't like.

P.S. Look very carefully at the Yoko in this video...

Edited October 15, 2018 by MarkDH