For Microsoft Flight Simulator: Yoke or Joystick?

Question

Which do you prefer?

I prefer the yoke.

Answer 1

joy stick

Answer 2

Please post your computer game (Flight Simulator) question in the "GAMES" section where it belongs. This section is for questions about REAL aircraft, not pretend ones from a game!

Answer 3

yoke... but just because I don't have enough money to buy a proper joystick (my usual joystick don't has much sensitivity and sometimes fails)

Answer 4

I use a joystick for Flight Simulator.

I suppose a yoke would would be slightly more realistic, but any yoke on the market will feel different than the actual airplane that I'm learning to fly.  A typical $100 yoke does not have the same range of motion, does not have force feedback, etc.  So buying a yoke to simulate a real aircraft doesn't really work.

I use Flight Simulator to do things like check out a cross-country flight before actually flying it, practice radio navigation, and to practice instrument flying.

Flight Simulator cannot accurately simulate the actual physical skills involved in flying.  Therefore a yoke really isn't necessary.

That being said, I do have a set of rudder pedals.  I found that a bit of practice with those quickly broke my habit of trying to steer with the yoke while taxiing.  And while the rudder pedals don't feel exactly like a real airplane's; just getting your feet involved helps a lot.

One other reason I like the joystick is that I can twist it to quickly look right and left.  A yoke isn't going to provide that, so you'll end up using the hat switch which is kind of clumsy.

Answer 5

If you want realism, use the same type of control the real aircraft has.  For example, a Boeing has a yoke, but Airbus aircraft have a joystick on the side panel!

Even in small aircraft the same holds true.  If you fly a Cessna, you have a yoke.  Fly a cirrus and you have a stick.

I prefer the yoke myself, unless I am in a fighter.