Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
by Saitek
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List Price: Our Price: $117.91 You Save: $47.08 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Saitek Pro Flight Yoke with Three-Lever Throttle (PZ44)
Customer Review: Adds some realism to the simulation
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had the Saitek yoke for some time, so this can be considered a longer term review. I don't remember installing the software/drivers included with the device, just used the Windows driver I believe. I do not have the "phantom key press" issue on mine. Setting up all the extra buttons in FSX takes a little time, but when done really minimizes the need for the keyboard. I put masking tape near the rocker switches to label the keys as programmed. I use the buttons for hat view, zoom in/out, trim, lights, gear up, engine start, flaps, etc. The yoke glides really nicely, though I think force feedback would be really awesome.
What I don't like:
1. I think the price really pushes on the value threshold of this unit; really seems like it should be less expensive but there are not many choices.
2. The desk mounting unit limits the desks you can use. For example, desks with a pullout keyboard will not have enough room between the desk top and the pullout board for the underside of the mount. I had to forgo the mount and place some heavy books on top, and this isn't ideal because the yoke can still slide around. Some type of suction assembly would work better for some desks, or maybe a thinner mounting piece.
3. The included throttle quadrant should be USB instead of proprietary, that way I could use it with my other joystick without having to plug in the yoke.
4. I could go without the LCD timer screen, would prefer a $10 cheaper unit with out it.
When I am flying a yoke style plane in FSX, I can't resist setting up the Saitek for the added realism. I ordered the CH rudder pedals first and still feel the pedals add more value to the simulation than the yoke (above a twisting joystick), but am overall happy with the Saitek yoke.
Customer Review: Saitek Pro Flight Yoke, & Pedals
Summary: 4 Stars
The first answer is, yes, this is the better product in this price range. The feel of real... and with the trim set up a much more realistic FSX experience. The wider stance of the system esp the pedals is much appreciated, the ch pedals are called "nut Busters" and for good reason. Shipping and delivery time were great from Amazon considering my local store only caried ch this was the economical way to go. Many on-line vendors, and I checked them all, were out of stock and were much higher priced, either with outrageous shipping prices or after you had placed your order you got an e-mail indicating there would be a considerable delay.
Getting use'd to FSX with Saitek has a learning curve as flying this sim setup is actually harder than the real thing and there is a problem with the sensitivity settings and some minor switch setting in the stock software, either you settle for the brakes turning on and staying on...with the sensitivity set for a more realistic view and control, or set the sensitivity too high and the brakes work just fine...pay close attention to the settings in the documentation, real close, because the info you need for setup is small and easily skimed over, and you will find yourself calling Saitek complaining. There is a neat optional software shell which, incompletly addresses these issues, neverless it is a neat shell program that works great after an hour or so tweaking the settings. The Saitek Web Forum should be visited on the internet, more than once, and all of your problems can be compromised and you will be happy. The documentation can and should be updated by Saitek, this needs to be fixed... So setup is a little tricky but worth it and even so this is much eaisier than the other brand which pails in comparison.
Customer Review: Excellent Yoke, Worth the Money, But...
Summary: 4 Stars
Purchased the yoke, additional throttle and pedals. Pitch axis is a touch too tight, but other than that, very study and well constructed piece of hardware. The clock makes timed approaches and holds eaiser, and the fluid movement of the pitch/roll axis make hand flying approaches a lot of fun. However..
The unit I recieved is experiencing the same phantom key presses that others have reported. This behaviour is acknowledged by Saitek Support, and they indicate that it only affects some units and are not issuing a full recall. Phantom key presses are quite annoying (i.e. gear coming up on it's own when on a 1/4 mile final). I've tried the "fix" which seems to work for some (using a PCI USB card), to no avail.
One very positive note is Amazon's support. I e-mailed just asking if I should work directly through Saitek USA or Amazon for a replacement (as it's a Saitek acknowledged problem), nothing but an e-mailed question. The result was an e-mail from Amazon informing me that they were sending a replacement unit to me via overnight with instructions on how to send back my faulty unit.
My only worry now is that since bulk units were sent to Amazon, that the replacement yoke will have the same problem. Being that Amazon probably purchased in bulk, if the problem only affects certain serial number blocks, the odds are the replacement will have the same problem (Have a friend who bought same yoke on same day from different vendor, not experiencing this problem).If that's the case, I'll just either return for a refund with Amazon, or exchange directly with Saitek (when they get more in stock).
Other than the the phantom key issue, excellent product!
Customer 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.
Customer Review: The Gold Standard for Flight Sim Yokes
Summary: 4 Stars
I was initially hesitant about purchasing this product mainly because of all the Phantom Keypress issues I've been reading about. Besides, my CH Products Yoke seemed to be serving me just fine.
Well, it appears Saitek has resolved the Phantom Keypress issue, and as such they have a winner on their hands. This product has definately upped the realism of my Flight Sim experience. It is solid, well built, and has plenty of key and buttons to assign when you set it up with FS9 (or FSX).
What I really like about this product is the fact that the throttle/Prop/Mixture controls are separate from the yoke. The rocker buttons beneath the controls helps to "spread out" your workload when flying. But the best part is the built in timer in the yoke, which I use to time my IFR approaches.
This product is very competitvely priced, and is definately a good deal. What I don't like about this product is the fact that it consumes a alot of real estate on my desk. If your desk has a slide out keyboard, you're going to have to remove that before you can install the yoke on your desk. Also, the yoke I've found is extremely "twitchy", especially on the elevator axis. Even after tinkering witht the sensitivities in FS9, I find the yoke can be a bit overly sensitive with the elevators which can be a bit annoying when you're on short final and about to land.
That aside, I'm happy with this yoke/throttle set up. If you've been on the fence deciding "should I or shouldn't I", go ahead and buy it. It will definately increase the realism of your flight sim experience.