In content manager.
Not flying as much lately as I’ve been learning to write flow widgets and fiddling with spad.next/control setup but here is my list for this month. I still tilt towards airliners for most flights when I do fly.
- PMDG 737 800/600. Still my favorite go-to for modern airliner(s), even without EFB.
- Inibuilds A310. More hands-on than a320 and my 2nd go-to for airliners. Amazing it’s free.
- Fenix A320. The best airliner in the sim, just the plane itself is a bit more automated than I like (I know that’s true to real life!).
- Aerosoft CRJ 700. Fairly recent purchase for me even though it’s an older one. It’s really well done and tons of liveries available.
- Vision Jet. If I were a rich man irl and a pilot I would own this. Amazing technology. Personal jet!
- Aerosoft Twin Otter. Another recent purchase so I avoided some of the early complaints. My current go-to for bush/water ops. Maybe because it’s new to me.
- Blackbird Corsair. Another older one that is still my fav warbird.
- Flyingiron Hellcat. My 2nd fav warbird. Spit is amazing but still too hard for me to master.
- Blacksquare King Air w/TDS 750. Would be nice to have new sounds and doors that open but a joy to fly.
- Just flight Hawk. When I just want to go fast.
I have not even tried helis/gliders or purchased Wilga (yet). Too many planes to fly already…
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That problem can be solved by purchasing the Wilga 
But please, continue with the Flow Widgets first 
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Just checking if I have made an error or missed something. You say still your favourite, but it did not appear in your previous listing. Am I right?
Good catch! At various points when I would post to the top 5 I probably had a different fav at that exact moment. This list is a bit more settled and overall in the last 6 months pmdg 737 has settled as my fav airliner.
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Yes, I read about this too in a couple of reviews.
I was wanting to get this from my preferred suppliers when it was in stock but now, I’m not so sure.
An updated list for me. I haven’t made the jump to airliners yet, so mine are all small birds.
Thanks for running this topic. I’ve been enjoying reading it daily. I always learn something new! 
- Blackbox BN-2 Islander. My favorite plane for low & slow island hopping. Much of my flying time is spent in the Caribbean and this plane catches most of it.
- Blackbird/Milviz C310. Love the feel of it in flight. It’s like hopping into my favorite car from long ago.
- Vision Jet. This has been getting more of my time lately for longer trips. And with their temp fix implementation of VNAV, it’s been fun to flight plan for.
- Aerosoft Twin Otter. Also nice for hopping but at faster speeds than the Islander. The sound pack has made it better.
- Milviz DHC-2 Beaver. For a free plane it’s very good. Still trying to master the art of landing these tail draggers consistently.
- Aerosoft KingAir 350. Love twin turboprops. Waiting the the Dash-8, but in the mean time, this is where I get my fix.
- Got Friends Savage Grravel. Another interesting free tail dragger that can land just about any place. And those big wheels!!
- Got Friends Vertigo. Just fast and fun! For getting there quickly but being able to perform some crazy maneuvers en-route. Love the P&W PT6A turbine, but being a retired P&W employee, I would…
- SimWorks Kodiak. Don’t fly it as much as I used to, but enjoy it from time to time.
- HPG H135. Another I haven’t flown in a while, but really liked it once I got the hang of how to treat it.
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So you mean it’s not meant to be there by design, and some units may not have that? I thought I read earlier that it was intended to have it.
For what it’s worth, since “discovering” that, and focusing on that while flying, it is barely noticeable. On mine at least it’s very direct in “push” (nose down). There is a bit of tension you need to apply first for “pull” (nose up) so for take off you need to be a bit “certain” with it but that is probably quite realistic. Needing a bit more physical force to get the nose pitched up initially.
In practice, the thing is, when you need that instant reaction most in “pull” is for landing / flare, by which point you are already inside the zone where you’re not in dead zone territory and it is very accurate both ways.
When you’re trimmed for level flight, even when I was focussing on exactly how much I’m moving my hands/arms to get a reaction up or down, I didn’t notice that dead zone area. It feels like the same sensitivity both ways where the slightest movement from centre makes the plane move - slightly - but that is due to the resolution of the throw I guess. It’s very gradual in those first cm’s and feels really good and controllable. If I really concentrated on that then yes, I could see that I need to pull a slight bit more but it’s so marginal and the spring force hasn’t taken over by that point that it feels (pressure wise) the same.
Also it’s good there is a specific dead zone for me for when I am not touching that controller and using my stick instead. Means I don’t get it fighting the stick to be the “master controller” and re-centering the stick constantly — and therefore I don’t need to unplug or disable it when flying a stick plane or helicopter.
I still think it’s a great yoke. No doubt you can get better but you’ll pay a price. This is probably me just justifying it to myself. But if that travel in pull is not by design I suppose I’d take a chance on returning it for another one before it’s too late. Bought from Box but via eBay.
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Thanks for the reply Baracus 
I guess I am a bit cautious because I bought the Saitek/logitech yoke a few years ago and shelved it pretty quickly because of the deadzone issue with it and the general lack of sensitivity. For me it was a complete waste of money. I don’t want to make the same mistake with my next yoke.
I am normally an extremely decisive person but mainly because I can’t try these things out before I buy I am not yet certain which yoke to buy. I am even looking at the thrustmaster yoke (was approx £250 at currys) even though I mainly sim in GA but it just seems to jut out so much from the table (about 9 inches I think). The fulcrum looks good but for me would be about twice the price of the Honeycomb and more than I really want to pay since I am looking at a new PC build this year.
Anyway, as said, thanks for the reply especially as I went off topic. Sorry about that .
Back on topic though, ‘I’LL BE BACK’ presently with an updated list of my fav. aircraft. I must say though that at the moment number one place for me goes to the BS King Air with the FTsim sound mod. I have yet to decide which others make the list
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The thing that exacerbates theissue with the Logitech yoke is how sticky it is near the neutral position. If you have a dead zone AND stiction it’s virtually impossible to make those fine little inputs that one wants to make.
With the Alpha this is way better. That’s not to say that a dead zone is a good thing to have, but all in all it’s much less of an issue than it would be in mechanically simpler yokes. I’ve had both the Logitech and now the Alpha yoke and there’s not even a slight similarity between them in terms of fine inputs.
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Thanks for that. I may take a chance on the Honeycomb xpc then
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I hope it’s the right choice for you! For me it was. But it’s always a question of how much of perfection one is willing to sacrifice. Aside from these two yokes I never tried another one so I cannot really say how much better or worse other offerings are. It’s such a personal thing. But ergonomically and in terms of feel these two yokes are worlds apart.
Back to the topic of the thread: I had two wonderful flights today. First a two hour flight with the Wilga and then one and a half with the Tiger Moth. Such a joy to fly both of them! I’ve now officially reached the outer ranges of the Himalayas. Soon I’ll know how much those two can take. Neither of them was directly designed for such high altitudes. But if I find some reasonably low mountain passes maybe I can make it through the mountains (longitudinally, I do want to take in this beautiful scenery after all 
)
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The next step up from the Honeycomb is the more professional metal yokes. With the Fulcrum, depending where you live, you will pay a 50% to 100% premium over the Honeycomb and demand is so high they are always on back order and take a fair while to turn up. The Virtual Fly (Yoko) and Brunner stuff is in another price bracket entirely (multiple thousands of dollars/euros).
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Yea. It’s kind of diminishing returns the more you spend. At least until force feedback is natively available in the game (if ever). No way I wanna pay multiple thousand for a 10% less deadzone lol
Maybe “common” wasn’t the best choice of words. I am reasonably sure it’s built into the yoke by design, given that you are having the exact same issue. If you search online “Honeycomb Alpha dead zone” you will find others discussing same issue and insisting it’s built that way.
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For me the Fulcrum felt the better option and was worth the money. I flew a lot of 172’s and 152’s back when I still had a medical and they have very long pitch throw and the yoke feels relatively heavy. The 8" pitch throw and heavy springs rather than a bungee in the Fulcrum suited my requirements perfectly.
I could not justify a Yoko which is double the Fulcrum price. The Yoko also is more limited in the roll axis than the Fulcrum or Honeycomb.
For other people the Honeycomb is perfect. They actually target slightly different markets and different use cases.
I still use my MS FFB2 on occasion.
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Actually this brought up an interesting option. Did you know there is a secret internal calibration you can do on it? https://flyhoneycomb.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4417297287565-Alpha-Yoke-Manual-Calibration-guide
Also, has anyone actually tried calibrating it in Windows? I have not - but maybe it’s a thing to do?!
Yeah, I saw that too, mentioned by one of the Honeycomb techs. I haven’t had time to try it yet, if you do let me know how it turns out? Would be great if that removes the small dead zone, makes that yoke a real keeper!
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I’ve been simming a long time. Mostly driving.
But it seems after getting back into flight sims it works much the same way.
And the fact of the matter is, most gear is good. And I mean, it is good enough to use and enjoy. Sure you can spend a LOT and get the best, but it is all sim gear made for sim hobbyists. These aren’t toys. They aren’t made like toys.
Cheap gear gets the job done in plastic. Mid range gear gets the job done in plastic and metal. Top shelf gear gets the job done in metal. 
There’s really not a lot of bad gear out there.
It mostly ranges from good to great.
And very few of us get to try more than one or two sets of yokes and pedals or whatnot. So it can be hard to compare notes because the gear is generally good so folks tend to like what they bought!
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I was looking at the Fulcrum for that very reason, realistic elevator and aileron travel.