Are people still experiencing yoke sticking issues on the Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke?
I have no idea what the issue is, I’ve just seen many complaints in the past of the center point sticking. Everyone seems to love the rudder pedals but the yoke gets such mixed reviews.
I’m thinking of getting a yoke but nothing really jumps out at me.
A second question, their marketing seems to indicate the trim wheel elimites force on the yoke. They describe it like it’s an actual airplane trimming process. Without force feedback I’m not sure how that’s possible. Does the yoke move it’s centering point according to the trim wheel?
That’s a little disappointing but about what I expected. At least what I expected until I read their description of the trim wheel. It makes it seem like it’s more than it is.
I’ve had one for over a year and yes, there is a sticking issue - some more so than others. The one I originally ordered I had to RMA it back to Turtle Beach due to excessive sticking that would not go away over time even though I was wiping the shaft with a dry paper towel as recommended by their support.
The new one I received 6 months ago still sticks a little but much better than the 1st one. TB’s support group was responsive to my issue and worked with me to resolve it to my satisfaction so I’ll give them a gold star for that.
I guess, if you want to interpret it a bit differently, once you do trim it out with the wheel, you do naturally return the yoke to neutral. It does have a moderately strong spring force it the pitch axis so trimming out is wise.
One thing to note about analog trim axes (not unique to this yoke), you can get violent pitch responses if the axis is near one of its extremes when you first touch it in flight. The trim will “jump” to the axis position instantly, if you understand what I’m trying to describe. No real way around it I’m aware of. Not a deal breaker, but your need to be aware of it. I’ll generally give the wheel a “kick” before a flight to prevent this later.
A few things. The ‘sticking’ is somewhat inherent in the design, even mine which I took apart and modified a bit back when these were new. Especially when turning the yoke and push-pull. it’s off-center, wobbles and grabs a bit. Some ceramic type lubricants help a little bit. I don’t recommend lubricants at it as you could make it worse. Pulling the yoke perfectly straight back/forth makes it smooth, which of course is near impossible one handed. It should of been a thrust ball bearing on that shaft rather than a plastic bushing, but oh well.
Also, the trim wheel typically you move it up/down a bit to ‘set’ it upon first loading the flight, you will see it jump from whatever the developer sets ‘standard’ trim to on flight start. I use the overlay hud so I can see the trim(and of course other info when I’m looking around). Some aircraft it doesn’t matter at all, some are preset even cold and dark to t/o trim which can be more than a few degrees out. If you don’t, you’ll get a jump to ‘catch up’ when you first use it. You can also try when flying in AP for long periods, wiggle it to wake it up again before disengaging in some aircraft(usually 3rd party).
You can also set the sensitivity like any other axis, some aircraft have WAY too responsive trim modeled in, you just build a profile for just that aircraft and adjust. IIRC the Kodiak trim is like that, needs quite a bit of negative to easy to dial in, yet you can still be aggressive with the trim to unwind the -30 t/o setting quickly.
Last, there is a sponge pad ‘neutral’ on either side of the center inside the box. There is actually a rail system to the side of the yoke shaft, the yoke shaft itself doesn’t have the sensor on it, which is part of where the slop culminates for ‘sticking’-its not the yoke shaft proper, and why lubricant doesn’t do much anything from outside. For some reason, the return from back elevator is a bit resistant to going back to center from the sponges, forward elevator always returns to zero. Watch on the sensitivity screen and return the elevator from back VERY slowly and you will see it does not got 100% to zero, touch it again and it bumps in there. When you fly this is how you return to zero, not just moving the yoke all over the place and letting go. It’s like 2-3% ‘slop’. You may need to add 2-4% dead zone, then shift it to the left/back elevator to cover the slop there. If you lightly let go of the yoke, set AP or trim, you may get a little jog/jump because it was at -2%, then settled back to zero.
I got it but I’m doing a return. I have a TM16000m stick and that translates over to real world flying with a much greater degree of accuracy.
I wish this yoke was built to the same degree of quality as their rudder pedals. I can feel and hear the springs rattle around in what sounds like a hollow cabinet.
I think more went into the design of the not functional display screens, and extra buttons than went into the important mechanics of the yoke.
I wish they’d release a version 2. I’ve read so many bad reviews of the sticky throttle that there’s no way I’m going to go for it. On the other hand, the module with the vernier controls and the trim wheel seems to be highly praised in almost all reviews. It’s also more portable than the Honeycomb alternative.
With Force Feedback and built like the rudder pedals!
Sticky may not be the best way to describe what it’s like. The forces are just very inconsistent. It feels like the internals are sloppy and catch when using it one handed, which it a typical way a yoke should be used.
I had also set my curves flat, which makes it match up near perfect with the virtual yoke. So I didn’t want to change the sensitivities to make up for any issues.
The pressure is so light it’s hard to maintain an attitude or bank angle.
I’m not actually familiar with that. Is it another yoke?
I know there are some well built force feedback ones on the market but I’ve been shying away at the price points because the sim doesn’t have native support, making the final result kind of hacky.
I think that is the most accurate description I’ve read.
I think it might also make it more prone to have issues with some individuals and setups over others.
I sim in VR and use a mouse for all interactions with the cockpit. The only thing I bind outside of AP and trim (where they belong) is camera controls. If I were using an Xbox and maintaining two handed use, I think it would be a little better.
In a real airplane, the flight yoke is quite firm and resists motion beyond the airplane’s current equilibrium.
It was kind of a big thing when I took mine apart last year Checking center and giving a tiny dead zone to cover the center spongy area is one of the most important settings, especially with trimming and autopilot(deactivation). I find the yoke fine for even hard(realistic) bush flying, and only really notice it in use if it were something silly like flying the Pitts with it.
For stick aircraft I use the TB flightstick, which I think is great for fixed wing, if you mount it to a small cutting board or something for more leverage. But that stick sucks for heli use though, way too firm. The TM Hotas is pretty much only good for helis in the sim loosened up all the way, but I digress. I always have the TM HOTAS and pedals hooked up(for all rudder usage) and just plug in the appropriate TB yoke/stick in the front USB for whatever I’m flying.
I think a lot of it also has to do with properly setting curves for a ‘natural’ level of authority for a given aircraft. I must have 20+ configurations. I’d get a ‘better’ yoke system, but for Xbox there’s just too much that can be done with the V1 to give it up, I don’t even remember the ‘sticky’ feel, even with challenging landings, although I don’t fly airliners.
There is a cassette that piggybacks onto the yoke to the right, the ‘binding’ 'is in there on that bushing, with some lateral movement of the yoke in it’s own bushing, and when turning, it bites a bit harder than when perfectly straight. If the bushing between the two springs were a metal roller bearing, it would be smooth as silk.
Again, the dead zone to accommodate the center foam bumpers and utilizing proper sensitivity rates to properly use more of the range of motion makes a big difference. Most basic settings have us ‘flying’ in a range of about 1" fore/aft, so the tiny bit of stick seems worse than it is. Like driving with a 900 degree capable wheel and only using the 90 degree range between 9-3 and saying it’s too sensitive.
And look at this ‘dead zone’ carefully on elevator axis. In the first pic I wiggle the yoke around and it finds center no problem. In the 2nd pic I VERY CAREFULLY return the elevator as if in actual flight leveling off and you can see where it sits(fingertip flying-letting go). With the slightest bump/touch it will return to the true zero. This is from the foam pads. If you set autopilot with this negative ~2% or so(or trim), with the lightest touch you’ll loose the digital ‘center’ and you can get jumps or having to re-trim. Check to see if your yoke does this. I do not see any issues ever from forward elevator. I think this my vernier 172 settings so disregard any sensitivity its just for this and the 152 on mine. I think I have linear ailerons on almost every profile except for a few twitchy 3rd party aircraft. It usually seems quite natural. Elevator is way too sensitive on just about everything, I like to have to actually pull the yoke back a notable amount to take off.
Also, setting negative sensitivity to the trim axis (11?) makes a huge difference, I have it anywhere from -20 to -60 depending on the aircraft’s modeling. It’s definitely not one for all. But this mechanical dead zone is on every setup(I start from an original custom default each time for basic cameras/lights/gear commonality, etc).
In reality, the cassette can rotate and move enough to compensate, but also allows it to bind up. I would say the #1 would be a real bearing on the spring shaft itself. I can’t remember the exact type but one that allows the balls to protrude from the cage and directly roll on the shaft. And yes I can think of at least 87 things to say about that comment. I’m getting into the indoor tinkering seasons, I have an idea or two. But with over 200 hours on it mine barely sticks, I don’t ever notice it impending anything anymore.
One of my concerns is the first time I flew an airplane for real, it was just so natural and instinctive, even after using a tm16000m for so long.
This yoke was anything but. I could get used to it and change around the curves. But the TM just seems to have a natural feel that I was able to equate with real aviation.
The TM is heavy and mechanically dampend, but not as heavy as a C172’s yoke in flight.
It’s this one. Although their site marks it as discontinued, which is news to me. They have a reputation for very poor customer care and communication, so it could be that it’s not discontinued, but it’s very strange.
Oh the Honeycomb. I originally hadn’t considered it since I saw complaints about the pitch axis being too short. But that’s a compromise if everything else is better.
It looks like the Xbox/PC one isn’t discontinued. Other than the compatibility, I wonder if there are any differences?
The specs seem to address my complaints on the TB.
Checking center and giving a tiny dead zone to cover the center spongy area is one of the most important settings, especially with trimming and autopilot(deactivation). I find the yoke fine for even hard(realistic) bush flying, and only really notice it in use if it were something silly like flying the Pitts with it.
