Pro Flight Cessna Controllers & Pedals from Saitek/MadCatz

Contributing reviewer Ray Marshall re-equips his trusty Cessna with a complete control array from Saitek/Mad Catz. "Saitek has teamed up with Cessna to bring to market a real life sim changer. This is a collection of key components used in the cockpits of our real world airplanes."

"At present, three items display the world recognized Cessna red, white and blue logo as Officially Licensed Cessna Products. The Pro Flight Cessna Yoke and 3-lever Quadrant module; Pro Flight Cessna Rudder Pedals; and Pro Flight Cessna Trim Wheel." Plus Ray has added a few extra pieces of kit into this detailed review.

"The Pro Flight Cessna Yoke has a total of 13 switch positions just on the left grip that are actuated with your left thumb and one finger, and that is while using only one Mode position. That is the 8 position POV (point of view) hat switch, a unique 4-way dual horizontal/vertical switch immediately below the hat switch and a red button for your left trigger finger. The right grip houses two 2-way sliders, one horizontal and one vertical, the 3 position illuminated Mode switch, and a black button for your right hand trigger finger. The right rear of the box houses a USB 2.0 hub with 3 extra receptacles for additional Pro Flight modules or for general use."

"The Pro Flight Cessna Rudder Pedals are advertised as Authentic Cessna Pedals with independent toe brakes, self centering mechanism and adjustable tension. They even have a foot rest extension."

"The Pro Flight Cessna Trim Wheel just might be the sleeper in the bunch. This is a seriously nice instrument. If I didn’t know better, I would take it as a real world equivalent. This adds so much to the simulation with 9 full rotations (4 ½ in either direction) making it extremely accurate."

"The Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant. This is also a quality instrument. It looks good, feels good, and has the 3 separate and necessary controls for Throttle, Propeller, and Mixture."

Ray concludes with "A quality yoke, quality rudder pedals, engine controls quadrant and large trim wheel with all the associated key assignments seems to fill that last void in making a simple home desk look and feel like a real world airplane cockpit."