CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB ( 200-615 ), Black

I am quite satisfied with this yoke. My main reason for choosing this over the Saitek is simply price. I'm not a gung-ho simmer, but of course I want more than just a mouse and keyboard (I'm using this for FSX). I have flown real planes (gliders) some, and I don't think anything is going to replicate the real feeling of flight, so it's just a matter for settling for varying degrees of similarity, and deciding on how much money you want to spend to maybe get a little closer to the real thing. I think this CH yoke is a great balance between "close enough to real" and "reasonably priced." I doubt anything could accomplish being much more realistic than this, and if it does, it costs multitudes more and in my opinion isn't really worth it - but that's personal choice. I had to use a board to get my desk to a thickness the clamps would grab. No problem. The throttle/mixture/prop levers feel higher quality than I was expecting. The plastic of the levers feels solid and the lever action is tight. I love the ergonomics and button placement. The trigger buttons feel a tad cheap, but they work fine. All the other buttons work great. I used some plumbing o-ring silicon grease to lightly lubricate the shaft. It binds a little if you don't (unless you push in/out directly straight on), but it's not bad. Setup was easy.

This yoke is a very popular and reliable yoke. There are only a few options at this price point and I wasn't looking to invest a ton of money into my new X-plane 11 game. I knew I wanted a yoke and a set of peddles, but I was open to options. Honestly, you have to buy a yoke and peddles to make X-plane worth it and practical to play. Doing it otherwise would make it feel more like a game than a consumer-level sim. Anyway, this is a great entry-level yoke to get into sim games like X-Plane 11. The setup literally took about 5 minutes and I also customized a few of the throttle and buttons to work a bit more like my favorite plane (Baron 58). It only gets 4 stars because it moves like a plastic yoke and doesn't return to the dead middle like a real yoke. It's spring loaded, so it sticks a little on the return back to level. If you're looking to get into flight sims or you just want to play X-Plane without a huge commitment (money), then this yoke is good. There are some mod youtube videos that replace the springs with elastic bands, which apparently helps with the realistic feel of the yoke, but I haven't dissected my yoke yet to make this modification - so 'enter at your own risk.' Great entry level yoke!

This review will talk about both the CH Rudder Pedals and the CH Flight Yoke USB. I finally got around to purchasing these rudder pedals from Amazon after accepting that I was NEVER going to find this item in stores. (...) Getting to the point...these pedals are a must have for serious flightsimmers...especially if you own Microsoft Flight Simulator and like to fly general aviation or the large commercial heavies. I also purchased the USB CH Flight Yoke for $99.74; the difference these 2 items make to the simming experience can't be stressed enough. If you ever got the guilty feeling after mastering the greased landing with the Boeing 747 or other heavy aircraft (the feeling that it's unrealistically easy), then this is the next level. It takes a lot more concentration and coordination to master flight using yoke and rudder as opposed to just a joystick or keyboard...just keep your hands off the yoke while going down the runway or taxiing, and you should be able to keep things in order! You may also consider purchasing the CH Throttle; that's going to be next on my list, because using the throttle controls as they are postitioned on the yoke are a little inconvenient for some aircraft that require constant changes in throttle position. Overall, I'm satisfied with the construction of the pedals; they weigh in at around 6 pounds and feel fairly solid and sturdy. The motion is fairly smooth with the application of both rudder and toe brakes. They work well. Not much more you can say about that. The same can be said about the construction of the yoke...fairly solid considering. I would like to have seen a little less tension on the yoke personally. Unless you are trimmed close to overtrimmed status, you have to give it a good pull to get airborne. I haven't studied it long enough to see how that REALLY compares between heavy versus light aircraft. But again, I think that only speaks to the construction of the unit and the strength of the clamp setup; pulling back on that unit with a fair amount of force and the unit doesn't budge from the desk. The yoke may take some getting used to based on where it will sit on your desk...in my case, there is about a half an inch beneath the fastened clamps to allow for my slide out keyboard tray, which was enough space in my case. I could see a potential problem in that area for others. I've read about complaints with the clamp system on the yoke, but I'd like to meet the guy that can think of a better solution to keep the unit stationary on your desktop...no problems with my particular desk and the clamps. What I've read is that people with lips or other unperfect edges may have problems since the surface area of the clamps is small. Again, not a problem with my particular desk. Another con that I read about and can somewhat concur with is the trim quality. I find myself having to adjust the elevator trim more frequently with changes in speed than with my joystick...on approach this can be viewed as a nuisance or part of the greater challenge. I'll have to give it some time to decide on that one. It may be that it's just easier overall with a joystick. I was looking for more realism and a greater challenge when I purchased the yoke and rudder. Installation was a breeze in Windows XP; just plug them in and they are ready to go. They come with a cd with any drivers that may not be installed already, and also games (so, I've heard...MSFS is my favorite past time, probably wouldn't fly anything else that I don't already own anyway). Another good thing about this unit and MSFS is that it is recognized as a separate controller. I have used the pedals in combination with the flight yoke as well as my Saitek X52 Flight Control system when I needed a joystick and not a yoke for flying fighters or even general aviation aircraft that have sticks and not yokes. Finally, both the yoke and rudder are a very good investment for the hobby. You'll find yourself enjoying the hobby more and actually steering clear of the autopilot controls. Hope this gives you some things to think about.

The yoke paired perfectly with FlightGear's aircraft simulator and with X-plane, using Apple OS Sierra. The controls have a good feel and responsiveness. The downgrade in stars is for the hardware used to attach the yoke to a desk or tabletop surface. The pressure points of the clamps, used to hold the yoke's housing to a desk, are located too close the front of the yoke's housing. They barely reach under and grab a desktop from below. This creates insufficient clamping pressure. Further, the clamps are located so far forward, they create a pivot point on the underside of the yoke's housing. This allows the housing to wobble and rock on the front edge of your desktop with any movement of the yoke wheel. This setup must have been released for sale without sufficient testing because testing would have revealed how poorly designed and inadequate the clamping system was. If you want this to work for you, you'll have to come up with an alternate method of clamping or strapping the yoke to your desk. One solution is to strap the housing to a rectangle of plywood and then use separate store-bought clamps to secure the plywood to your desktop. All in all, a very good control system with a very poor mounting system.