Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System throttle, yoke

...use. This comes with the saitek set-up program and I was playing in 10 minutes. When you installed the program all you had to do was calibrate it but it was already calibrated and there was no problem with it at all but to just start playing.

The yoke Is made out of high quality sturdy plastic and the shaft is stainless steel and is spring loaded. On the top it is metal-plated with saitek engraved on it but I found it was very easy ...
...move unlike the throttles from saitek which move so easily there is no effort needed. There is only one cable running from the throttles which connects to the yoke and can be tucked away easily.

In game I was really annoyed that 2 of the throttles did absolutely nothing except sit there and do nothing, I found that it would have been easier to fly single piston engine planes but as the mixture and prop didn’t work I changed my mind. ... more

I have had this product for 2 years but there are some downsides and after taking a trial flight in a Piper PA28 the reality of the yoke has changed

The yoke and throttle quadrant were so easy to set up with just two plugs to fix it to the desk and the plug in and play USB system was so easy to use. This comes with the saitek set-up program and I was playing in 10 minutes. When you installed the program all you had to do was calibrate it but it was already calibrated and there was no problem with it at all but to just start playing.

The yoke Is made out of high quality sturdy plastic and the shaft is stainless steel and is spring loaded. On the top it is metal-plated with saitek engraved on it but I found it was very easy to scratch if you had something on it e.g. keyboard. In the centre of the yoke there is a timer and clock with three setting which can be changed on the back right of the yoke with the scroll wheel. There are three buttons blow the clock/timer which are: reset, start and stop. On the front right of the yoke there are two buttons which can be used in game but I found that every time I was playing on it the buttons changed and I had to recalibrate them which was very annoying. Also there is a big red button which could be used to change the view in game. On the back there is a red button that could be used in game, on the front left there is one but along with a 8 option joy pad. On the back there are 2 USB sockets which can be used to connect other flight instruments and 1 connecter for the throttle quadrant. The yoke is spring loaded inside so when you turn left or right, or push forward and back and let go it will always return to the centre. The yoke fits very tightly to the desk and doesn’t move when you turn.

The throttle quadrant is made from sturdy plastic like the yoke but the throttles are made out of weak thin plastic and every time I get it caught on something you can hear the plastic breaking inside. On the front there is of the yoke there are three buttons which I am disappointed with them that they do absolutely nothing in game. The throttles themselves are made from weak plastic and there are 3 of them and the have 3 different jobs, one is for the propeller, one is for thrust and one is for the fuel mixture. I am very annoyed that the throttles are weak and do not feel like the real thing as if they were in a piper warrior where they are harder to move unlike the throttles from saitek which move so easily there is no effort needed. There is only one cable running from the throttles which connects to the yoke and can be tucked away easily.

In game I was really annoyed that 2 of the throttles did absolutely nothing except sit there and do nothing, I found that it would have been easier to fly single piston engine planes but as the mixture and prop didn’t work I changed my mind. I found that when I started doing missions on flight simulator but I found the yoke did not work with the airbus type and was not very responsive but on other aircraft it was fine. At low power the throttles do not work well until you get to fifty percent power. The joy pad on the yoke works really well in virtual cockpit. I found that the yoke works with any game and so does the throttles.

After I took my first trial flight in a Piper warrior and flying a PA34 Seneca simulator the yoke seems to unrealistic to the real thing. When flying the aircraft I found that the controls were very heavy and very stiff to move but before when I was flying with the yoke I thought that’s what a real aircraft feels like and I was shocked when I found out how much effort you put in.

With the product there is a price of £120 which is at the lower –end compared to some of the CH yokes which are very expensive and not as good in game. I think it is a very good value for money but be warned it’s not like what the real thing is.

If I had to improve it I would have labelling on the buttons to show you what they do and to make the yoke harder to turn. Also I would make the throttles out of stronger plastic and that it operates with any aircraft to avoid disappointment. The last thing I would change is to have more tension in the yoke to make it feel like the real thing.

Overall a very good product with some problems, 4 *

 

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