Hello I know there are plenty topics out there talking about the quality etc from yokes,
But still I can’t find my answer, I’m in the market for a new yoke and I’m looking for the most realistic yoke.
So this is a question to real life pilots, I have flown in a Cessna 172 and know how it feels, but what sim yoke get the closest to real life feeling? Talking GA planes here, like the C172
My question is regarding getting ready to start with getting my PPL (in a C172).
Thanks in advance!
-Bram
According to a pilot who mentioned controllers. He said that none can bring the feel you have in a real aircraft… although many quality yokes seem to be around.
I have 3 hours on 152/172 and Diamond Katana from 20 years ago 
too many hours to evaluate right? 
no seriously but I think that the only way to go toward the closest (psychological without motion platforms) simulation of the feel of a specific aircraft is to dedicate a simulator setup for 1 single model and make everything tuned to it (Aka home cockpit from modest to fancy).
On my side I have an eye on the TM Boeing one (the last ones I used and gave away were the CH and Saitek that do not match today’s controllers standards in anything I think).
But what about force feedback yokes. I heard about this one:
I agree with the above. None will give you the same feeling. Mainly because the lack of feedback. In a small GA plane you feel the air and forces on the yoke/stick. They also change depending on your speed, phase of flight etc.
There are some super expensive ones with force feedback but even then it’s not the same. Simply because it would require a very sophisticated simulation of the forces on the control column which is simply not there. Also the automation can’t replicate the subtle movements and forces you feel. My limited experience with force feedback is that it makes it worse. The stick / yoke makes some random movements not very representative of real life.
With all that said … Definetely avoid the popular Saitek/Logitech yoke. It’s not good at all. The one I can strongly recommend is the Honeycomb Alpha. Best one you can buy on budget (roughly 1 hour of C172 flight). For joysticks on budget I recommend the KBSim Gladiator NXT. Feels very similar to an airbus sidestick.
If I were you I would buy the Gladiator. It’s a fantastic joystick. Yokes take a lot of space, so unless you have a dedicated sim pit you have to screw/unscrew them every time which quickly gets annoying. For me to the point I don’t use them at all. You also don’t get a ruder axis and throttle (at least on the Alpha), so you need extra hardware for that.
Most modern light aircraft actually use sticks instead of yokes.
Around 2010 or so, I was at Walmart Canada and I saw in the electronic section a TM joystick for 40$ or so… It was the T16000M with the green color touch and (annoying) light.
I liked the fact it can be flipped from right to left handed and it looked to me close enough to the Airbus stick. So I bought it and since, I did not use any of my other stick or yokes (mentioned in my previous post)… It had a superior feel and precision to any other stick I tried despite the center detent that I prefer if it was softer…
I think it was the first T16000M model released by TM… Now I see the newer editions with orange color touches, for at least double the price of what I paid back then for mine! And I wonder are the new versions even more precise and with better center detent?
And then there is the Airbus version that I am always tempted to get but when I see that is my T.16000M camouflaged in an Airbus shape I feel bad paying for it with the price… Yet perhaps, again, it could have a much better feel than my first gen T 16000M
Dusty, tired but still as precise and good as it was in 2010 when I got it
Here’s Austin Meyer’s take on a selection of popular yokes. He’s the creator of X-Plane, and a pilot himself:
Had that one. Now I have the Gladiator NXT. The difference is night and day. I agree the T16000 is very precise, but so is the Gladiator. The feeling is totally different. The T16000 is very flimsy and light. The Gladiator has a bit of resistance to it and more importantly doesn’t have a standard centering spring. The movement is dampened by very dense lube. It behaves just like a A320 side stick and makes flying so much easier and more precise. It basically stays in the position you put it in. There is a centntering force, but it’s subtle. This is also closer to real life.
Your last sentence rang an alarm bell: Do not use a PC flight simulator as a replacement for airmanship training. The most expensive simulator you can buy will not have the fidelity requirement to practice the maneuvers you must become proficient with to earn a PPL. The simulator can be a useful tool for airspace familiarization, basic pilotage navigation and even how to use the VOR but do not extend the utility to basic stick and rudder skills. You will end up learning muscle memory that is very different from what you need to learn in that C172.
I will throw about 2000h real world GA in singles and twins from Cessna, Piper and Beech and a few more exotic ones, as well as FS since 1982 with just about every yoke you can buy. Except for that 1900€ one.
Currently I am flying with the HC Alpha and Bravo. And they are great.
Before that I had the Saitek Yoke and Quadrants and the HCs are a huge improvement.
However I have never, not even in professional sim setups approved by the FAA for flight training, had a yoke that can come close to the real feeling.
Some came closer some not, but aside from the aerodynamic forces that change drastically in different flight regimes, the yoke is not the only thing where you feel flight.
I keep reading user comments about customer care being less than stellar at Honeycomb, I received mine in time as promised. Have not had any issues with it.
So I can not tell if I was just lucky or these comments are from a vocal few.
I would buy the combo again.
Thank you all for the reply’s, I was thinking about the honeycomb already, looks like that will be the one.
I fully understand that the sim will be nowhere near reality (talking hardware)
It’s more for getting familiar with VFR and all the instruments reading etc.
But still having a good yoke and pedals make it more enjoyable.
-Bram
I’ll have to agree with @lkowgli . I had a yoke and frankly never used it because it’s terribly cumbersome to have to plug unplug screw unscrew each time, and it eats my desktop. Also, except for some specific models, generally yokes will be far from reality, both in feeling and movement. All in all I’d go with a good set of throttle+stick.
As for the yoke recommendation, I tested the Saitek/Logitech yoke and it was OK. Fullfilled my needs, knowing that there are better options but doesn’t matter what yoke I use, won’t be near reality (same as a stick is nowhere near what a PA11 stick feels).
For yokes, as opposed to joysticks, bang per buck = Honeycomb.
My strongest and most sincere recommendation is to not touch any aircraft in the sim for a while that is in a similar class to the C172. You will likely just add hours to your training. It might look great to understand and already know the hand-foot-seat-of-pants-coordination… but the latter lacks in the sim. In the sim you learn pure visual flying and that’s not what you do in reality. A good CFI will beat you up with his rolled news paper if he notices your MSFS training 
Point is, this sim here does many things wrong where it comes to real aerodynamics. Your yoke in a C172 is a utensil to talk to and with your plane, it’s very sensitive. You feel what such a light airplane does and coming from the sim you’ll use your brain, not your buttcheeks and stomach. It will really become important and quite obvious once you start all these unnormal situations, slips, stalls, steep turns, things where you get close to or beyond the borders of the Cessna’s flight envelope. You’ll learn to fly with your senses after a while, horizon picture, seat-of-pants, wind and engine noise and your yoke will be your instrument to correct all that.
Soooo, coming to your actual question: most things have been answered I think, force feedback is not necessary IMO, since aircraft controls don’t behave like the steering wheel of a racing car. Regarding trim, yeah maybe but you’ll learn this one very quickly. You can still release forces in the sim but with a centering control. The Honeycomb is a great yoke and so are others. I wouldn’t buy the Saitek stuff either.
That’s the one I have; I’ve disabled the light as described here:
The later model is shown, but it’s exactly the same.
Note that I’m handy with small parts, you need to be too.
Thank you! Surgery successfully done on my T16000M
Started with saitek yoke, upgraded to HC yoke, then purchased the Fulcrum yoke. A little more expensive then Alpha, but so much better.
Just want to throw out a counterpoint to this. FSX was immensely helpful when I got my PPL, and Flight Simulator (2020) additionally immensely helpful when I came back to knock the rust off for my flight review after a 10 year hiatus.
My instructors always commented on how fresh I seemed even after taking weeks off between lessons, and it was because I practiced before and after each lesson in the simulator. I soloed and went for the checkride with really low time because I was able to cement what I did in real life by doing it again (and again) in the sim. Your mileage may vary of course.
I think the thing to remember is that the Flight Simulator C172 and the real C172 are two entirely different airplanes, even though they share a lot of similarities. And that variety itself can make you a better pilot.
I had a CH Yoke, and ditched it for my old Sidewinder joystick. The yoke was just cumbersome to use, a burden to setup on the desk, and the quality on that particular one not great. The Sidewinder gets by, especially for easy trainers, so I wouldn’t put a huge emphasis on the controller itself. The Honeycomb or a decent stick recommended above will be more than sufficient. I actually think the Honeycomb Bravo is my most important and favorite controller, being able to have dedicated levers for all the engine controls, gear, flaps, trim, switches, it’s a huge help.
I’m thinking of making the switch to the Fulcrum and glad to see you mention it.
It seems a more affordable full-throw yoke than the serious sums required for the Yoko.
I’ve also been considering the TM Boeing yoke. I wonder if anyone is able to offer and objective comparison?
The most important thing for me is the smoothness and precision of the elevator travel (what makes the Logitech flight pro such a poor choice - it has both a pronounced detent at centre and mine was somewhat ‘sticky’ out of the box).
I like the Alpha a lot but find that the tension on the elevator is too strong…so I carry on looking for my ideal yoke.
If I couldn’t have the Yoko, this would be the yoke I would get.
I like the idea of the Bruner force feed back yokes, but I’m not completely sold on what they would bring. If it would allow for the yoke to have no tension at idle, and increase force as airspeed builds, and give a more realistic trim experience, I would be all for it. Potentially it can.
But from what I have also read its very much a garbage in, garbage out thing. I don’t think MSFS supports FF natively, so you are at the mercy of whatever third party software you use, and configure to use the right simulation variables correctly, and accurately.
I’d love to try the Bruner, and would buy one hands down if there was a no quibble returns policy if I wasn’t happy with it.
But like many things there are compromises. Although the Bruner has 180 degrees on roll, it only has 90mm on pitch. The Yoko/Yoko+ have 144mm on pitch, and everything I had read before purchase at that time was pitch was more important than roll.
For now, there is still no perfect yoke.
Though I just noted that the more expensive CLS-E MK II yoke has 160mm on pitch, coupled with 180 on roll, and stronger FF.
A review of sorts, complete with questionable taxiing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPQa9_NeKjM
A better look at it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MPTUX-PHOE
I am taking my check ride in a couple weeks, and am absolutely fastidious about my sim setup. I only sim-fly the c172 because that’s what I’m training in, and have built a VR & motion platform around that exact plane. I have the Honeycomb and it feels very nice (and received high praise from my CFI), so unless your budget is unlimited, and you just want the absolute closest thing (Bruner, from my research) the Honeycomb is pretty darned sweet.
The one glaring limitation is it’s length of throw, which is a fraction of the real life plane’s. As such I don’t practice soft field takeoffs. In flight, it’s good enough.
