Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
by Saitek
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
Customer Review: Great Feel. "Phantom Key presses" were easy to fix for me ....
Summary: 5 Stars
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 Yoke 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 Yoke 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 unequalled 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.
Customer Review: Excellent flight yoke & phantom key issue resolved!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay I must admit I was initially put off by the number of reviews and posts I'd read with regards to the notorious 'phantom key' issue, that is views intermitantly changing, gears going up and down etc. with no input from the user.
Although I believe CH Products make terrific flight controllers and I use the CH pro pedals, pro throttle and F-16 fighterstick I was attracted to the Saitek Yoke's larger, separate throttle, smooth metal shaft and multi-mode capabilities.
With some trepidation I purchased the unit on the proviso that I could return it hassle free should I have a 'defective unit'. Sure enough, within ten minutes of setting it and trialing it in both FS9 and FSX my views were changing randomly from once every minute to once every few seconds! I tried deleting the keys and re-programming them in FS and turning of the USB power saving fuction in Windows hardware manager but the problem persisted. Determined to get it working (as I was immediately impressed by the look, feel and movement of the yoke & throttle) I did a little research and discovered that by merely downloading and installing the latest versions of Pete Dowson's FSUIPC dll's for FSX and FS9 the phantom key press issue was resolved. As many MS Flight Simmer's may or may not be aware, Pete's FSUIPC is installed into the modules folder in the FS directories and tweaks/improves input, clouds, weather and interfaces many 3rd party addon's with MSFS. FSUIPC can be found at www.schiratti.com/dowson.html I am currently using FSUIPC4 v.4.2.0.0 for FSX and FSUIPC v.3783 (beta) in FS2004 under XP SP2.
Where the problem has originated I cannot be sure but is a shame that an otherwise excellent product has had it's reputation and most likely sales tarnished by this unfortunate problem that the majority of users seem to have experienced. Without the frustration of the phantom keys issue this yoke is an outstanding product and a pleasure to use.
Customer Review: As a private pilot I appreciate how this handles
Summary: 5 Stars
I got my private pilot license about 6 years ago and suffer from the fairly common complaint that I simply don't have enough time (or cash) to get up as often as I need to.
When I was training for my license I purchased the CH Yoke and found that it was OK for practicing some of my maneuvers but it tended to "stick" quite a bit which made the experience somewhat awkward and translated to rather harsher performance in my real planes.
Now, half a decade or so later, I am starting to get ready for my instrument rating and I purchased this Saitek offering (and the rudder pedals) along with Flight Simulator X to both keep my habits fresh and to eventually practice procedures when in IMC. This yoke is much smoother than the CH was (can't speak to current CH offerings) and the three lever quadrant has a very realistic feel to it.
I have not suffered from the phantom button press issues that have been discussed in other reviews so I am either lucky or the issue has been resolved.
One word of warning for experienced pilots using the full yoke/rudder setup, when I first began using FSX and the Saitek peripherals I was all over the sky and was flying like a crazy person. It turns out the FSX settings default to *too* simple. They are trying to help too much. Here I am trying to use rudder, mixture and all the normal things a pilot uses and it turned out that the various "auto" settings (auto-rudder, auto mixture) were somehow conflicting. Once I set the FSX parms to "hardest" everything fell into place and the simulator began to behave normally.
Of course the flying experience is not exactly the same as really being out there, but if you consider this to be a part of a wonderfully rich version of "armchair flying" where you can keep yourself from getting rusty on your checklists, and flying procedures. I promise, in this context, that you will be happy with this purchase.
Customer Review: Saitek Pro Flight with 3 lever throttle
Summary: 5 Stars
I researched the Pro flight against several others including CH Products flight yoke. This process consumed more than 2 months. So why did I purchase this yoke over the others? Well, when the yoke arrived from Amazon, very speedily, I was impressed by the solid construction of both the yoke and the throttle quadrant. The variety of buttons, POV location were right on and very easy to setup for Microsoft FSX. The included customization software was not the current version, but I was able to download the current version from Saitek's web site and to also register the product. The software runs fine on my HP beefed up computer running Vista with service pack 1 installed. I have been using this yoke for 2 months now and am very happy with it. Aircraft control is superior to a conventional joystick, although will use my stick for my combat Sims, if I ever go back to them. Unfortunately, the yoke squeaks when you initiate turns. I am told this is due to the nylon bushings used and additionally, the yoke shaft should not be lubricated, will void your 2 year warranty. Other than that, this thing is by far the best of the medium price range yokes. Buy it and you too will be hooked on it for years to come. Hope this little review has helped you to make an informed decision. Happy Flying.Customer Review: An Absolute MUST HAVE!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a bit skeptical of purchasing the Saitek yoke (also got the rudder pedals) due to the review on amazon dating from 2007. There have been no CURRENT reviews on this package, so figured I'd throw one out there.
The yoke and throttle combo itself is a fantastic deal, and works beautifully. Through either the FSX controller config, or with a registered FSUIPC, they both work flawlessly. The yoke seems to stick just a tad, so precision is off just a little (nothing major here), and sadly you cannot use any form of lubricant (will ruin the shaft mechanisms). The throttles are done so well, I have purchased a second one to increase realism with my MD-11 and PMDG 747. The throttle is very smooth, and you can configure it however you want!
I would NOT recommend using the Saitek software, as it is unnessisary, and just wastes resources. You do not get the use of the Mode1,2,and 3, but if you have enough buttons to use all of the modes, then you may as well be a real pilot :). The software is a bit buggy and out of date for a Vista/W7 system, and really isn't needed to run this smoothly.
Overall I rate the product 9/10 - 1 point less than I'd like simply due to the very slight sticking of the shaft. Other than that, a fantastic product!