Flight Simulator Hardware – Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle Review
For those inspiring to hit the air the Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle and the right flight simulator software is the next best thing. The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle Product Features
Saitek Pro Flight Yoke
The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System features a durable stainless steel shaft with precision bearings for smooth, predictable elevator and aileron control. The built-in stopwatch is perfect for timing approaches, and if your PC lacks available USB ports, an integrated USB Hub* provides a docking station for additional Saitek hardware.
Saitek Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant
The included Throttle Quadrant features detents for idle and reverse thrusters. Detachable lever knobs enable you to customize your flight by configuring any combination of throttle, flaps, mixture or prop pitch. For an extra layer of realism, additional Throttle Quadrants are available separately for multi-engine setups.
Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle Customer Reviews
* If you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know how this one is going to go. I’ll give you my expectations when I purchased it, and then give you the pros, cons, and the bottom line. When I looked for a flight yoke, I wanted the following: A smooth, realistic feel to the movements of the yoke, a realistic throttle quadrant to accompany it, enough buttons to work the flaps, gear, trim, etc. I wanted it to be realistic, but I also wanted a yoke that was utilitarian for flight simulators. I tried to find a bridge between the two. I wanted it to be of solid construction and not priced too high.
Pros Of The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle
Works perfectly with Microsoft FSX (plug and play ready)
Throttle quadrant relatively realistic
Plenty of assignable buttons for FSX functions
Center screen is a workable clock or chono (clock assigns time from your system time)
Cons Of The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle
Kind of plasticky (but it seems sturdy enough)
The mount only attaches to surfaces that are maybe 2-2.5″ deep. If you have a thick table, this might not attach.
Edging on the pricy side…
Bottom Line: After reviewing the variables and comparing to other yokes (like Saitek’s Cessna Yoke or CH products yoke) I found this yoke to be the best bang for my buck. I would have preferred it to be a little cheaper, but I ended up being willing to pay a little more for this than, say, the CH products yoke because I wanted more buttons (which this one has) and a better throttle quadrant (The CH products yoke has a little mini throttle quadrant built in to the top of the yoke).
* To start with, I wish I had purchased this setup much earlier. It feels so good and delivers such rock solid performance that I cannot imagine flying the civilian aircraft in FSX without it. If you want the C-172 to become as compelling as the P51 in your control, then this is the setup you’ll want.
But I vacillated on this purchase for some time before buying it due to all the reviews reporting phantom key presses. I didn’t want to order something I’d likely have to return or exchange. Although I love flying with my CH Fighterstick , Pro Throttle and Rudders when flying warplanes or helicopters, I always felt like I was missing out on the joy of civilian flight simulation when using a stick instead of a yoke. So I finally mustered up the courage to order the Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle in spite of the many poor reviews while holding my breath on the “pkp” issue.
By the time I got mine, I had thoroughly familiarized myself with the scope of the phantom key press problem and the possible cures. I had hoped mine would not suffer the symptoms but those hopes were dashed very shortly after loading up my first flight with the new controls. Sure enough I had the dreaded phantom key presses switching my views. By a process of elimination – including flying other sims without any hitch, I concluded the issue lies within the FSX setup itself. I was right. Upon closer inspection I noticed two unusual controllers listed in my FSX control menu: “Mouse Yoke” and “Mouse Look”. Each of those had mysteriously been assigned default button assignments which conflicted with what I had manually set up with the Saitek Yoke. Particularly, I noticed the “extend gear when throttle rapidly decreased” and “retract gear on rapid throttle increase” commands were assigned to a button in the “Mouse Yoke”. I also had a large list of view commands mapped by FSX to buttons in the “Mouse Look” controller. All I had to do was clear each and every one of the “joystick assignments” in both and all was well.
I now have about 10 hours of flight without a hitch using the Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle and even added a second throttle quadrant for even more enjoyment with multi-engine aircraft. I coupled these controllers with the book “Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots Real World Training” and I began working through the lessons. The experience is unequaled in all the 20+ years of computer gaming I’ve done to date. The Saitek yoke made the entire experience more immersive and rewarding.
Needless to say, I strongly recommend this yoke and even the second throttle quadrant to go with it. The reviews to the contrary can be quite demoralizing, but it appears the fixes to all the woes were only all too easy in the end. If you’re considering this setup and you ask me, I say go for it. You won’t be sorry.
See More Customer Reviews Of The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
Incoming search terms:
- saitek pro yoke
Related posts: