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have never before tried one of the "high-end" flight sim hardware
devices until now. When Precision Flight Controls sent me some
of their products to evaluate I had no idea that spending several
hundred dollars for just one piece of hardware would be worth it.
Now, sadly, I am at the point that I can not live without this yoke.
Remembering how several years ago I started my hobby via credit card,
I vowed to never fall into the trap again to pay for "toys" as some
flight simmers call them! Well, I can assure you this is no toy,
and you may want to stop reading now if you're weak when it comes to
the purchasing of flightsim addons.
First of all I was impressed just opening the box it came in. It was
huge! Upon pulling out the nicely wrapped yoke unit which must weigh
almost 20 pounds (the heavier it is means it must be great, right?)
I found that this was a serious piece of equipment. As soon as I put
it on the table I felt as if I was in my friend's Piper Archer. The
yoke is full size, made with the same materials, certainly weighs as
much as a real yoke, looks like the real thing and .... feels like
the real thing. You don't even have to have a flight sim program
running to enjoy this yoke. Just sit at the table and pretend you're
aviating! It's that good.
Pulling and pushing the yoke is the smoothest and most precise movement I've felt outside of a real plane. It is "heavy" and does not spring to a neutral position like other joysticks and yokes do. It does move towards center, but at a realistic rate as if wind was acting on the elevators. Equally smooth was the aileron axis. No springing to center there either. In fact all axis are so smooth and precise I knew it would be good when put to the test.
I booted up FS and there were no hitches. My setup for CH Virtual Pilot Pro worked fine here too, and the PFC yoke worked immediately. After checking the control position indicators, I knew we were all set. In fact the yoke is so well made, even without a real hard center, you can calibrate easily. Wherever you leave the yoke and calibrate it, that will be the center.
For those of you that have ELITE, the yoke is equally pleasing. There is not much more to say, except that all movements and throttle inputs work perfectly.
The unit includes a great "push & pull" Cessna style throttle. The movements are smooth as silk and the resolution is so high, you can make slight rpm increases as easily as ever! Again, no other joystick or yoke I've ever tried has this high resolution. The basic unit has rocker style "electric trim" style buttons on top of each hand piece. For FS, they default as brakes. For other programs they could be programmed depending on the software of that individual sim. In X-Plane for instance, I made the trim buttons become brakes and auto trim. Flying with the yoke in your left hand and the throttle in your right you'll instantly realize you're another step closer to the feel of a real plane.
Is it worth the hefty price tag? Yes. Absolutely. But I must say that about a real plane too! For most, coming up with the $400 + for just one yoke is as much out of the question as plunking down $60,000 for a real plane. PFC does take payment plans (as your own credit card company loves you to do too!). This can make it oooh so tempting. If you do purchase this yoke despite the pain your wallet may feel - you are guaranteeing yourself endless hours of hand flying bliss! It truely has to be seen to believe. You do get what you pay for when purchasing the Cirrus Yoke.