CH FlightSim Yoke PC

FlightSim Yoke PC

Manufactured By: CH Products

Retail Price: $99.95

Review Date: **05-06-99

Updated: 05-08-99**

One of the many reasons I started The Control Center was the self-revelation that I wasn't normal- from a PC controller standpoint that is. I have always wanted better, more buttons and features, a more realistic look and feel and overall enhancement of my gameplay. Just before starting The Control Center project I was browsing the CH Products web site to see what was new when I came across an image of the FlightSim Yoke and just knew I'd have to have one when it was released! That was about 9 months ago; I have since established The Control Center and made the yoke a part of every single page (look at the background image).

Most of my virtual flying has been controlled with a stick, throttle and some type or rudder control. My real life flying never included a stick and usually involved reverse ruddering on the runway because I was so damn accustom to a stick twist rudder system. After my last real-life flight experience I picked up a great set of CH Pro Pedals to add to my flight controller setup. It helped me learn how to control the plane on the ground and fine-tune landings. Well about a week ago I was able to remove the joystick from my flight setup and added the long awaited CH FlightSim Yoke PC in its place. Hours later I realized how late it was and caught a few hours of sleep. Since, I have easily logged enough hours on this thing to qualify for my first solo flight!

Did it live up to my anticipation? In a word (or two) Oh yea! I played FlightSim 98 for starters and moved on to my WWII sim collection. Then I started to get a bit crazy and tried it with a few racing games and a space shooter. Luckily I stopped myself before I hit the Quake II shortcut on my desktop (I do have the AirQuake add-on). It was fun and effective with each although I will still be using a wheel for racing. The space sims are a different story though. I'll continue to use the yoke with them.

I had one stupid problem in using the FlightSim Yoke PC. I have one of the cheapest possible computer desk known to man. Its one of those $50 slide out keyboard platform desks. The platform is 3/4" thick and the Yoke would not clamp down on something so thin. Its clamps tighten down to ~1 1/4". To fix my desk I simply mounted a strip of finished wood to the underside of the platform and all is well.

The hardware itself is put together well. The desk clamping mechanism consists of 2 screw down clamps that make setup and removal easy. The yoke has a nice contour and your hands nicely fit the handles. Button placement on the yoke is very convenient and thought out. On the base of the yoke the two switches, trim control and throttle are situated in a way that makes them somewhat obscured by the yoke. A wider base would have brought these features out from behind the yoke but also have taken much more of your desktop space.

Features 98%-

• Pitch, roll and throttle axis controls
• 4 way hat switch
• 3 push buttons
• 2- 2 way rocker switches
• pitch trim wheel
• gear switch (1 position)
• flap switch (2 positions)

Appropriate For-

• Flight Sims (MS FlightSim 95/98, CombatSim, WWII Fighters, Flight Unlimited II, European Air Warrior, etc.)
• Racing Games (Need For Speed III)
• Space Sims (Descent Freespace)

System Requirements-

DOS, Windows 95/98/2000, Gameport

Price -

The MSRP for the FlightSim Yoke PC is $99.95. The CH yoke is the only affordable, realistic PC yoke available. A few independent manufacturers offer yokes but they bare a price tag with a few more numbers included.

Warranty-

Warranted to the original purchaser for 3 years from the date of purchase against defects of material and workmanship.

Performance 95%-

The CH Products FlightSim Yoke PC had to live up to much anticipation and it delivered. For most of the testing I coupled it with a set of CH Pro Pedals. I also spent some time using it as a stand-alone controller to evaluate it on its own. When used as a stand alone controller I either used it with a coordinated rudder or set the right rocker switch as the rudder control. It played well but I highly recommend adding a set of rudder pedals to the experience (otherwise you may steer backwards on the runway when in a real plane!) I used the yoke with both my standard SoundBlaster Live gameport and the new PDPI L4 Gameport with equal results.

The first flight conducted with the FlightSim Yoke was a takeoff from BWI International Airport and a jaunt over to The Fredrick, MD Municipal Airport in Microsoft FlightSim 98; a flight I could make in my own plane if I had one. I made the same control errors in this flight that I did on my introductory flight lesson in a real Cessna 151! I spent countless hours in a P51 Mustang in the WWII Fighters "Fly Now" arena. With both experiences it took a brief adjustment period before I made the complete adjustment from stick-to-yoke control. I soon regained the same level of proficiency I previously had with the stick setup but the whole experience was brought to a new level because I was using a realistic yoke for control.

It was great to program the engine start and flaps to the 2 base switches and have a trim wheel to adjust the pitch like in a real aircraft. I only used the Gaming Center utility for Flight Unlimited II since it was the only sim that does not have in game button assignment. As mentioned elsewhere, I removed the Gaming Center from my Startup group so I would not continually "pop up" when I started my system. To activate it I simply ran the program from the CH Products program group before starting the sim.

Although the yoke is sold as a flight sim controller I could not resist trying it with other types of games. I will always use a wheel for racing games but the yoke provided great control and offers more buttons than most typical wheels. Its a great solution for someone looking for a controller with some diversity. I played a few rounds of Need for Speed III using the yoke and faired well. I also used the yoke in a few space combat sims and did really well. I will be using the yoke to finish the single player Descent Freespace campaign, Rouge Squadron and will start X-Wing Alliance with it soon.

The performance of the FlightSim Yoke PC is great. It brought me back to some sims that I had lost interest in and enhanced the experience of those that I actively play.

Setup 90% -

Setup took all but a few minutes including my desk modification I described in the introduction. I plugged the yoke into my gameport when I used it as a stand-alone controller or through the Pro Pedals pass through connector when I used my more elaborate flight setup. The Windows software setup takes a few more seconds to install and you'll need to run through the calibration sequence. If you use external rudder controls be sure to check the box for external rudder pedals connected in the setup. Then you should ready for your pre-flight check.

**Software 85%-

** The FlightSim Yoke PC comes with a single floppy disk containing the Windows 95/98/2000 driver, and Gaming Center and JCenter utilities. All are installed within a single shortcut folder along with an extensive Windows based help file. The Gaming Center utility is added to your startup group so it is executed every time you start your system. The Gaming Center utility allows you to assign keystrokes to buttons and switches on the yoke. This utility is helpful for sims like Flight Unlimited II where you do not have the option to program button actions in game. The JCenter utility is a simple DOS based axis test utility to assure you are getting a good read on the yokes actions. The software installation proceeded without issue.

One comment on the Gaming Center utility that uses may want to consider. The executable is placed in your startup group and run every time you start your system. If the yoke is not connected it displays a message telling you it was not found. You can pull the Gaming Center off your startup group to avoid this message and simply run the executable from the Start menu or a desktop icon. Its one less thing your system has to deal with upon startup.

Documentation 92% -

The yoke comes with a simple 4 page printed manual and fairly extensive on-line help file. The printed manual will guide you through all of the general installation, setup and troubleshooting steps to get up and running (or flying). The on-line help file goes into much greater detail on using the yoke than the printed manual, including setup procedures for specific sims.

Currently the CH Products website does not have much additional information posted on the yoke. I understand that they may eventually post Gaming Center Profiles provided by users. They also have detailed FAQ's for their other products and should be adding any questions that may come in on the yoke.

Overall Rating 93.8% -

The CH FlightSim Yoke PC is one of the best flight sim controllers available. It offers realistic control, quality and will enhance you entire virtual flying experience. The Control Center recommends the yoke to anyone looking for a highly realistic flight controller.

Pros-

• many programmable buttons and switches
• realistic look and feel

Cons-

• Throttle, trim wheel and dash switches obscured by the yoke

Similar to-**

• CH Products Virtual Pilot Pro
• CH FlightSim Yoke USB LE

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