Hardware Review: Saitek Pro Flight Cessna controls: Difference between revisions

As of version 2.8.0, these controls are fully supported out-of-the-box in FlightGear.  Saitek also produce non-Cessna branded Pro Flight yoke, quadrant and rudder pedals.  Though I haven't used them, based on photos I expect they are very similar in quality and function.  In particular, the rudder pedals appear to be the same chassis, but with different pedals, and the throttle quadrant is identical to that provided as part of the Pro Flight Yoke System and Throttle Quadrant products.

The yoke movement is nice and smooth, with the deflection force required increasing quite linearly with deflection distance, so it takes some effort to hold full up elevator with the yoke pulled right back.  The yoke self-centers when released, and I suspect uses springs for centering.  There's no force-feedback option with FG,  but this does provide some feedback of control deflection, particularly when you're flying out of trim.  In comparison the deflection force on my joystick is largely constant, making it more difficult to "feel" the amount of control deflection just by the force on my hand.  Left/right travel is 180 degrees, and forward/back travel 8cm.

For flying a GA aircraft like a 172, the Beaver or indeed a traditional airliner or business jet, it simply feels more natural than using a joystick.  You become much more aware when your aircraft is out of trim, and trim with every power or attitude chanbge rather than simply holding a bit of back or forward pressure.  More realistic, and more fun.

A yoke setup like this obviously isn't for those flying fast jets or WWII fighters, or even the Piper Cub.  It also takes up a lot of space, and really has to be set up permanently.  The yoke is sufficiently large that you can't simply reach around it to type, as you might with a joystick, though you could balance a keyboard on top in extremis!. Similarly, the quadrant and trim wheel will get in the way of trying to use your computer for other tasks.  To set up the system properly at home I had to replace my computer table with a larger one that I had in the garage, and set up a separate monitor specifically for FG.  I'm quite happy with the results, though negotiation of the permanence of this setup with my wife continues.  I may yet have to go back to a joystick and pedals.  For many people the space requirements will be a deal-breaker, and a high end joystick is much more spouse-friendly.

There's no getting away from the fact that this stuff is expensive.  The Cessna yoke carries a premium over the Saitek Pro Flight Yoke, and the pedals are similar in price to the Pro Flight Combat Rudder Pedals.  List price for each is just under $200. If you are using a £30 joystick quite happily, this will seem excessive.  However, a better comparison is with the equivalent CH products yoke, or high-end joysticks which are comparable in price and are designed to last a long time.  A case in point: My first two joysticks cost around $50 and each lasted a couple of years before there was too much play in the axes to allow accurate flying.  I then bought a CH Products Fighterstick for around $150, which is still just as accurate 5 years later.

The yoke does come with a quadrant, and discounting that from the price makes it comparable with my joystick.  On that basis, the cost gets more reasonable.  The pedals are a bit trickier to assess in value for money terms. I think they are better than the CH Products equivalent, but I'm not convinced that the price differential is completely justified.