Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44) by Saitek
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Digital camera reviews of Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
Digital camera Review: Amazing Yoke
Summary: 5 Stars
A great product, that when you combine with the Pedals and the Throttle, you get a great experience.Got 3 modes for register, and a great variety of buttons.With the Sofware, you can play more than just simulators with him.Digital camera Review: Phantom Key Stroke Problem Solved?
Summary: 4 Stars
Well I just did some research on this yoke and discovered that Sietek has resolved the phantom keystroke issue. New replacement units are shipping to all US distributers. If you happen to have a defective unit, per a post on Sietek's forum, owners are to call 310-972-9930 for return/replacement instructions. I am going to order one myself but am not sure if Amozon has the new units yet. Sietec refused to post a current serial number of the defective lot but a person on the forums said that he just got his and is working flawlessly with a serial number of SZ005111624. This person with a "good" unit purchased his thru Newegg in CA.
Well I am going to place my order now and I will post an update when I get it up and running.
UPDATE: I recieved the yoke and pedals three days ago and after spending an hour or so configuring the unit I fired it up. The SN# I recieved was 00492657 a call to tech support assured me that I had a unit that had the phathom key stroke problem resolved.
I spent about a total of 20 hours flying around in several planes whith included single engine ceasna's all the way up to the heavy 747. I WAS NOT ABLE TO FIND ANY PROBLEMS WITH MY YOKE. I was very impressed with the quality and performance. I took a gamble but in my case I think it payed off.
Also for anyone wondering if this yoke works with a mac don't worry. I hooked the yoke up to my mac and am running xplane ver.9. The drivers were not needed it was simply plug n play. Xplane recognized the yoke and throttles with no problem. It was very simple to program.
I hope this helps.
Digital camera Review: Very Disappointed
Summary: 1 Stars
Saitek did such a great job in their design but the product just does not work. I spent a lot of time trying to configure the yoke and throttle to work - each time, with everything calibrating fine, thinking I had solved the problems. Based on other reviews it seems that buying this setup is a big gamble - it might work or it might not. I wish I had more time to waste on it since it is really very nicely designed hardware for the money. Eventually Saitek will work out all the kinks, but until the reviews are uniformely positive, I will just have to go back to the CH yoke.Digital camera Review: What I Got for Christmas
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been flying Flight Simulator since the days of wire frame graphics and keyboard controls. Usually behind the curve on technology, I have, in the last couple of years, been enjoying advanced control systems to make flying more precise and immersive.
I have enjoyed many different HOTAS (Hands On Throttle and Stick) configurations, but when I finally got Saitek's Saitek X52 Flight Control Systemand Saitek Pro flight Rudder Pedals I was in virtual aviation heaven. I learned quickly of Saitek's sturdy construction and the smooth precision of action.
But, as good of a controller the X-52 was for military aircraft and helicopters, it detracted from the immersion factor for general aviation and transport aircraft. So what I got for Christmas was the Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three Lever Throttle (PZ44):
Features:
The Yoke has two two-way switches and a button on top of the right post. It has one two way switch, an eight-way POV on top and a trigger switch on the front of the left post. The Mode switch is on the top-front of the right post. The front of the yoke has a backlit LCD display that displays the Mode and time (24 hr format) or elapsed time {I would like to research if there is a way to have the yoke display GMT }. There are three buttons on the front. One is a mode select between time and chronograph, the second is start/stop and the third is a reset.
The quadrant has the three levers with zero detents. If you go below a detent, it counts as a button (I have the power lever detent setup as F2 repeating for thrust reverse). Below each lever is a two-way rocker switch.
So, let's see here...excluding the 5 axis and POV, you have seventeen potential inputs times three modes for a total of 51 possible inputs. Mode select is only effective if launched through SST though. Haven't got the time yet to mess with software.
First Impressions:
It took a while to setup the functions I wanted within FS. Then I spent sometime offline flying to get the feel for it. I still have some tweaking but here is what I found out initially.
The yoke is very smooth and precise. It does have definitive centering which you can come out of smoothly with little effort but I ended up putting in just a tad of "null zone". This reduced the tendency to over control. I have seen electric trim in some light planes positioned on the yoke. I have set the tree two way switches as my trim. Initially I had the "repeat" slider set to full and found it very difficult to precisely trim. I have backed it off to the middle setting and it is better but still easy to over trim. I believe that taking "repeat" off completely will be best.
The quadrant movement was likewise smooth and precise. I found the zero detent very obvious, it takes very little effort to move past it, but you will know when you did. The step below the zero detent is a "button" and I have the power lever's set to F2 repeating and the prop lever's to feather. For the first time in my sim flying I can touch down and immediately move to reverse without hunting the keyboard or assigning another valuable button to do it for me. It is very intuitive.
I hate the idea of reaching over a yoke to operate the engine controls as it is on the CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB ( 200-615 ). The separate control quadrant allows me to place it in a position that approximates a Cessna or other light plane. Of course there is a great deal more cable, so if you have an eight foot arm, knock yourself out.
I flew the C172, B1200 and CJ700 in Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe DVD while making small tweaks to fit my preferences. In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight, I toured around in the Herc (C-130), C40 (737), C9 (DC-9) and T39 and B1200. What a difference!
I went online in real weather and went up in the B-1200 and shot some non-precision and ILS approaches. The power response was smooth and authoritative and the precision was such that speed control and descents and climbs by power were easily accomplished. The yoke made fine control input the norm.
There are several things I want to try yet. Setting all of the engine levers to separate engines and tooling around in a 727 and then yanking into reverse on all three pipes at the same time, as an example.
The one limitation, and this is true for all but the high end quadrants is that in multi-engine scenarios you will still have to select an engine to make individual adjustments as in a fuel cut off/feather problem. Or select out the bad engine and pull off with the mouse. The neat thing here is, you can stack another quadrant and have a true twin engine quadrant for about the price of one of the stand alone sticks.
There is a lot of territory to explore yet, but so far I am more than pleased. The overall quality seems very good to excellent and the smoothness and precision are as good as I have ever experienced or heard of.
PROS:
Good size, ergonomic, sturdy.
Simple setup.
Smooth, precise inputs.
Adaptable.
Plenty of Buttons.
Affordable.
Cons:
Would have liked the engine control levers constructed with metal instead of plastic.
The power quadrant's case is entirely plastic, would have liked some more metal used throughout the set.
Some very minor assembly required (mounting clamps, etc).
Ethel's Very Happy Husband
Digital camera Review: The Best Yoke Available Anywhere!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first got this yoke it was kind of weird adjusting from a joystick but in a matter of hours of just flying you get sooo used to it...It feels real and smooth. I even land planes a whole lot better. It centers great fro trim its just unbelievable. BUY IT!!! I had those same phantom keys as previous users but trust me it's not that bad as they make it really seem. As a matter of fact I just disabled my Gear up and other Important buttons from the yoke that could jeopardize my flight on Approach. Nothing happened since.