Yoke vs Joystick/H.O.T.A.S for General Aviation Sims?

This might already been asked before, though I could not find any thread regarding this topic.

I`m a real pilot, and I have just recently got into flight sims (FSX and X-Planes 11 so far) and i`ve been looking to upgrade from mouse and keyboard, to either a yoke or joystick. Problem is, is that i`m on a budget, so I can`t really drop $500-$1000+ for a GoFlight or yoko yoke, which doesn`t give me a whole lot of options. So currently, it`s between the CH eclipse yoke, and Saitek Pro flight. Problem is, is that i`ve heard these are quite cheap and don`t offer very good flying experience especially to real pilots. So I started looking at joystick/hotas but i`m reluctant because of the immersion breaking factor, for example if i`m flying in a Cessna, King air, or an airliner which mostly use yokes.

Should I go with a good quality joystick/hotas, or bite the bullet and save for a good quality yoke?

It's funny how the 'real' controller setup have tried to 'creep' into the Simulators. Who said the 'real' setup is ideal or practical anyway? I mean you have throttle being worked by the right hand so the yoke will have to be worked by the left hand. Why can't they make GA with a joystick, worked by right hand, and throttle worked by left hand? Just saying! Tradition? Emersion? That and $7 will buy you a cup at Stagbucks.

In the Sim I use a joystick and a 10-key USB Keypad and I can fly all the airplanes, or vehicles, or UFO's for that matter, without a problem. And the joystick sits to my right, with 'center line' of joy being at a 45 degree angle to my body. My right arm extends to the right at 45 degree angle and I work joy better than if it was between my legs or on desktop in front of me. So it's 'ergonomically' correct and feels 'right' and I can relax and fly all day. But joy is a MS Sidewinder Precision 2 so THAT alone makes a huge difference. Believe me. The keypad sits to left of keyboard and is mapped with throttle (F1-F4), pitch trim, parking brake, etc. Works for me.

It is amusing (to me) how simmers will plunk down hard cash for a '3 piece' setup and then they find out the 'setup' will not work as they hoped it would. Even by using FSUIPC. They don't tell you everything. They just want your money. Shame. Don't get me wrong, it would be NICE to have all this 'gear'. Only you don't really need it for the Sim. OK? OK! To each his own. But for me: give me a good joystick that WORKS, a USB Keypad, and I'm happy as a lark in the Sim. No 'yoke' (pun intended). Ha.

Chuck B

Napamule

If you are flying those aircraft, then obviously, for the immersion factor, a yoke is preferred, as those planes do not use joysticks... simple answer!

As to which is better, I've been using ChProducts yoke & pedals for many years, without any issues at all.

You also must remember that the sims are basically 'games' as opposed to professional sims found at full-on training schools. However, they are very much used by 'real' pilots to practice various activities on. For example, at our virtual club, we had a young Boeing female pilot joining a meeting of ours to practice flying into Luton, as she had a job interview with DHL as a transport pilot. She practiced flying procedures WITH a YOKE & PEDALS on a 3 screen FS2004 set-up & actually later got the job. Using a joystick really would not have worked for her at all, due to lack of immersion.

Also remember that when you are actually flying, the immersion factor compensates for the perceived deficiencies of the equipment. So, using a joystick with Cessna's & others, for me, certainly detracts from any immersion I have with simming.

This is also seen with the group of kids we mentor at our virtual club (The Young Falcons)

After lectures, they practice on FS2004, using joysticks. As a treat, they join us on our sims that use yokes & pedals. They really start smiling & get excited with the increased immersion of using the yoke & pedals..

Oh, some of us at our club also use a 2nd keyboard, with the keys re-assigned & grouped, with coloured labels indicating functions, so we do not really use the normal keyboard at all.

Hope this helps,

Robin

Cape Town, South Africa.

Curiously, I find that a HOTAS (with separate throttle) gives me the best immersion factor. In a real aircraft I don't have to hunt for a keyboard key to raise and lower the gear, adjust the trim, mixture and prop, etc., just a brief glance if anything, and with a HOTAS I have those functions and more assigned to keys or axes on the HOTAS. With a bare stick or yoke, I find I spend too much time and mental attention trying to find these functions on the keyboard. It's even worse if I'm trying to use the mouse in the virtual cockpit (or even in the 2D, if I happen to use that one). All this distracts from the attention I pay to actually flying the airplane.

For the same reason, I use a TrackIR for most view changes, with a "pause" button assigned to it on the HOTAS for those times when I need it locked (spot view,for example). This lets me do all the above without (once I'm in practice with all that) not have to think about how to do any of those things, any more than I do in a real aircraft. These things essentially become instinctive, which I've never been able to do with a bare stick.

I've tried yokes in the sim, but they are a bit sticky and don't operate smoothly like those in the real thing, though granted that I've never had my hands on a PFC or equivalent, only the cheaper ones.

Obviously others' opinions differ, but that's my experience.

I use hotas Saitek X52 Pro and edtracker (instead of trackIr) and I am happy with that gear.

Inviato dal mio H30-U10 utilizzando Tapatalk

The 'Aha!' or 'Happy!' moment for ME was when I discovered (while still in FS98) was that a GOOD joystick and my KEYPAD (with F1-F4) provided the BEST setup for flying HELICOPTERS and VTOL AC (like the Harrier). No Yoke or Hotas or Paddles can beat it for this 'type' flying!

Chuck B

Napamule

I know, I'm in a minority, but I learned to fly before I learned to drive. I've always felt that planes are flown with a stick, CARS are driven with a wheel. Never the twain shall meet.

I never understood why manufacturers made planes with wheels. Maybe o make it easier for people who can drive to learn to fly or something. I know a famous example was the P-38. Lockheed made it with a steering wheel, why I never understood. Fighters need a stick. It's just so much more intuitive.

So, for what it's worth, I only fly with a joystick. Ever.

Pat☺

Maybe I am not being fair. Because a MS Sidewinder Precision 2 is a stick apart. It don't have springs or rubber bands. I really feel for those poor people that buy expensive joys with poorly designed mechanisms. Takes all the enjoyment out of simming. If it wasn't for my MS Sidewinder I would of have quit simming a long time ago. Honest.

Chuck B

Napamule

I never understood why manufacturers made planes with wheels.

I suspect it was largely for more sales -- women mostly wore skirts back in the days when they first started control wheels in light aircraft, though that doesn't explain the DC-3 and such.

It depends what you want to fly. If you fly an Airbus or a DA20/40/42, a stick would be better. If you only want to fly Cessna's, a yoke would be better. But honestly it doesn't make much difference to the feel of it. You only grip a yoke gently with one hand anyway, which you either push or turn to move, similarly to a joystick, so it isn't really worth worrying about. And if you're flying a jet you'll be more concerned with automation than manual handling. In all cases the biggest thing you will get from manual flying on flight sim that will translate into the real world is improving your scan, in which case it doesn't make a difference.

For my part I own a £35 Thrustmaster Hotas. It is very good. The only let down is having no rudder pedals. I'm sure if you were desperate you could put up some pedals on the cheap.