CH Flight Yoke by Ed "Lozhechnik" Reddy
	CH offers three variants of their yoke: 1-USB, 2 - USB Le, and 3- PC. For two months now I've had the opportunity to play with the CH Flight Yoke and the Flight Yoke USB LE variant. The USB version has not been made available yet, however the USB LE variant (without the fancy mixture and prop controls) was sent to me after testing the gameport version. All boxes for the Flight Yoke come with the USB version plastered all over the box, resulting in your thinking that you're getting all the bells and whistles. I was disappointed when I opened up the box to find the USB LE sitting innocently inside. On a side panel of the box are three tiny pictures of each variant of the CH yoke. The first two are without the extra controls, the third is the new CH calling card with the three throttle levers. I found it annoying to have their main product shot on the side. It reminds me of buying a VCR, and then the manual tells you that you just bought a model without VCR + and message center. User Interface My first action prior to installing the yoke was to install all software. CH has excellent utilities for all their products and the Flight Yoke is not exempt from these benefits. CH has a very nice software interface specifically for the Flight Yoke. By simply identifying the executable of the game, you can then define over 14 different button functions for each game. One of the benefits of the USB variant is the ability to plug in the device while your computer is on. Not only is this a nice feature for any control, but also if you have several USB controls, you can quickly swap between them without having to turn off your computer. USB is perhaps the best invention since the mouse - it allows 'hot' swapping of components: you don't need to shut down your PC to attach the device. Windows will immediately recognize the device and if you have already installed the drivers, no additional set up is required. One point - CH gameport and USB controls are not compatible (i.e. you can't use a USB yoke/stick and gameport pedals.) CH is releasing their pedals and throttle later on this year in USB variants. Score: 9 Installation The first thing I did with the yoke when I hauled it out of its box was to examine all the bells and whistles. My USB LE version came equipped with 14 button functions and a throttle lever on the top right of the yoke. On the top right of the yoke is a nice 4-way hat, and the left and right top handle of the yoke contain the trim tabs for perfect functionality. In total there are two trim tabs, three push buttons, and two two-way rocker switches. On the left is a manual vertical adjustment for slight trim adjustments when calibrating. I placed the yoke down on the front of my desk while I fetched the two mounting bars from the box. They screwed into the front bottom of the yoke and are meant to have the bars under the desk lip. To mount the yoke I simply swung the two small bar clips under my desk and fastened it tight. I then had a look at the yoke housing and noticed the yoke rod extended out the back. I plugged in the USB yoke and after a quick calibration I was ready to test. Click to continue		Functionality The design of the yoke is simple but there are a few design problems. The first is that the control rod attached to the control surface can extend up to 6" out the back. I fired up Fighter Squadron: Screaming Demons Over Europe and flew a WWII Lancaster bomber around the Dover airport in England. I attempted a shallow dive to quickly reduce height from my current altitude. I pushed the control forward only to have it abruptly stop half way as the rod came out of the back of the yoke and hit the base of my monitor. I decided to overshoot and try another landing approach and banked the Lancaster to the left attempted to engage full thrust when the second design flaw became noticeable. The location of the throttle is on the top right of the yoke housing. It was difficult to adjust the throttle while turning left and right since the yoke handle blocked access to the throttle. A final comment on the functionality of the CH Flight Yoke. The left/right tension springs are too weak to ensure an exact return to center. I was flying a Mosquito in SDOE in a cross country trip when the aircraft would bank slowly left or right depending on the last action on the control (it was not returning exactly to center). My telephone rang and I glanced away for 10-15 seconds to answer the call. I returned to find the aircraft in a full-fledged wing-over dive. It is my opinion that the internal springs on the yoke were not returning it to the exact center when released. Horizontal movement is exact, but left/right return was poor. I took a quick peek behind the yoke to make sure nothing was resting against the control. Next I gripped the yoke firmly in my hands, banked hard left, and then released the yoke from my hands. Under normal conditions, the yoke should stop turning left, having been returned to center. But my Mosse kept on turning until it was again wing-over. I leveled off my plane and again released the control and touched the yoke slightly left and right. Each left and right touch caused a slow left and right bank, confirming my suspicions. Go to Page Two: Quality and Value
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