Has anyone tried mounting the Honeycomb yoke or throttle under the desk. There only seems to be one place selling a kit to mount this in the EU. Im UK based so this looks to be the only option
It seems to be a simple metal plate with pre drilled holes mounted to the top. And then the existing clamps hold the edges to the desk underneath. As this is out of stock I was thinking about making this as it’s just a metal plate with holes in.
Has anyone tried this and do you have a source for the metal plate. Amazon sell lots that are suitable but I wanted to hear from anyone who has already tried this.
I made my own under desk mount using a piece of aluminum angle I had laying in the garage. My FS desk is not a conventional wooden desk and is instead a plastic 5’ folding leg table that I didn’t mind drilling holes into. I originally had the Alpha and Bravo mounted on top with the standard mounts but really like the lower mounts and it allowed me the ability to mount a couple of tablets on top.
This is a great idea. Are the 6 small hex screws strong enough to support the yolk? I hate that the honeycomb takes up my whole desk and I can’t drill holes in my desk as it’s made of granite.
Im in the same situation as you I don’t really want to drill holes in the desk. This seems like a fairly easy way to do it while utilising the clamps that come with the Honeycomb. Also this way makes taking the yoke off if you need to quick and easy, where drilling holes obviously would take longer if you needed to remove it temporarily.
I’ve seen a number of these solutions and would like to reclaim my desk space as anyone but unless your desks are very high I don’t understand how you are able to get your legs under the yoke and still turn it?
My solution was to mount some strong magnets on my honeycomb’s and a piece of sheet metal under my desk. Easy to position it perfectly and easy to remove.
And very cheap as I had the magnets already.
And Yes, I had to put about 90mm “spacers” under the desk to get it up a bit.
Actually, I’m only using the two outermost holes on the Bravo and four on the Alpha (outer and inner two) and they are solidly secured. Obviously, I’m using longer screws than what came with the units in order to allow for the thickness of the angle and still get plenty of purchase on the screw thread.
I actually did raise the desk (about 1") using a hockey puck under each leg and this works perfect for me. I can slide my legs in and out from under the yoke and no issue rotating it fully through it’s entire axis. My chair can be lowered further (probably 3" or so) but I don’t find the need for it and like to be closer to eye level with the monitors.
Also, the setup I made allows me to remove both Alpha and Bravo in just a couple of minutes. I’m actually using three pieces of angle. One long one mounted directly to the desk that faces with one leg down. Then I have two separate shorter angles mounted to the top of each of the Alpha and Bravo, using as I said above the two outer screw holes plus the two inner holes on the Alpha (which is a much heavier unit than the Bravo). Then I secure the two separate angles to the mounted angle on the desk using wing nuts.
This picture shows the mounting setup. The metal strap (aka Plumbers Tape) is used to secure the two tablet holders. I’ve also added the homemade Knobster which mounts to the top of the angle and through to the Bravo screw hole. It can be disconnected right at the back of the mount, which is a separate, thin stainless steel sheet metal clip I had laying around. All in all it works great for me and although it’s not an ideal setup for a home office from an aesthetic point of view it is extremely functional for my needs and I’ve always been a “form follows function” guy anyway.
That’s my right knee in the photo and you can see it rests up near the trim wheel but I have plenty of leg room and as I said no issue with full yoke rotation. It’s certainly more roomy than most actual cockpits.
I think I’m going to try someway to mount it under the desk. I may even try a simple piece of wood, with 6 4mm flat head screws and use the supplied clamps to hold it together. I could buy another clamp if necessary. Do you guys think wood is strong enough to hold the yoke? It’s a lot easier to drill holes in a piece of wood than a piece of metal and a lot easier to buy. I guess the thickness of the wood is a factor.
As to the room under the desk, there may just be enough and I’d rather move over than fill my desktop.
Anyway it’s a cheap solution and if it doesn’t work, it’s time for plan B.
On another note, I wish there were softer springs for the elevator movement…it seems way to hard to push and pull the Honeycomb and much easier to turn side to side.
I’ve actually scrapped this idea as the yoke would actually be too low to be mounted underneath the desk. It would actually touch my legs when turning. If the desk always an inch or 2 so higher it would be fine.
So I used a 3/16 x 3 piece of Oak, drilled 4 holes with 4mm x 30 flat head screws and clamped the Honeycomb yoke under my desktop. Total cost under $15.00. Works fine and is only a little obtrusive when using the desk for other stuff. Seems very sturdy. My knees just clear and i just get my knees out of the way in a sharp bank. Really no problem. I wish I had a quick disconnect but that’s another project. Still a little awkward to use the desk for other stuff, but works great with the keyboard right in front of the yoke while flying.
I have moved away from this configuration, but used the lowrider under the desk mount for the above setup. Worked very well and was of excellent quality.
This is awesome, and probably what I would like to do. Would you be willing to share details about the magnets you used? Did you screw them into the yoke/throttle or stick them? How did you attach the sheet metal?
I gave up on this idea as the desk would need to be raised up to compensate for the lower yoke position. On a normal desk which cannot be height adjusted the yoke would be touching you legs and would not really be useable.
I’m in that “$100 for a flimsy piece of plastic” club. I’m still using it, but definitely have my eyes open for a new solution. I don’t like the way that plastic bows in the middle as the weight is only supported on the edges. Also, I feel like those mounts will eventually pull right out of the desk and I even put liquid nail on them. I just don’t trust them much.
Ideally, I would like to have them as separate quick release brackets of some kind.
I have that same table, but it’s not my FS computer table.