Flight Sim Yoke – Tips on Buying
To get the most out of your flight simulator experience, you have to make it as real as possible. After flying by keyboard and mouse and possibly joystick, you may be wanting to go to the next level and increase the level of realism. These days you no longer have to settle for controlling your flying with the keyboard and mouse, there are a range of options to build your own home cockpit.
If you are looking for just one improvement, that will really add to your enjoyment and bring you closer to the feeling of flying a real aircraft, you can't go past a flight simulator yoke. There are a number to choose from and it is worth spending a little time to understand what the differences are, as choosing the right one may mean the difference between having the most fun flying and a very frustrating experience.
First check the compatibility of the yoke with your computer, operating system and flight simulator software. If you have an older system, check that the yoke will work with your operating system. Most yokes will plug into the USB port, so make sure you have one available. These days most yokes will be plug and play, meaning you can just plug it in and the computer will recognise it as an input device. Check that the brand of flight simulator software will work with the yoke, there is nothing more frustrating than plugging in a new control and fiddling with it for hours to try to get it recognised.
Check where the yoke is made and what it is made from. Of course you will generally get what you pay for, but be aware that a cheaper yoke will probably be made out of light plastic parts that will not have the same feeling as a real yoke, as it will feel light and weak. We are looking for a control that will add to the realism of the experience and not one that feels and performs like a toy. Paying a little more for a yoke will give you a control that is made out of stronger quality parts that will have a solid feel, one that is much closer to a yoke in a real plane.
Yokes can differ in the number of additional controls they offer. A basic yoke will just control the roll and pitch of the aircraft. A more advanced model will not only allow you to control almost everything from your control column, including throttle, prop, mix, gear and any other control you can assign to a free button.
Upgrading to a flight simulator yoke will be a great improvement to your flying experience. Before you buy, use the information here to make sure you purchase the right yoke for you.
For more information and tips about finding the best flight simulator yoke, visit http://www.flightsimulatoryoke.org