The best civilian flight yoke system, if you can resolve the clamping challenge.

As a dedicated flight sim enthusiast, I’m never shy about capitalizing on an opportunity to try out new controllers that have the promise of providing a unique and satisfying simulation experience. Over the years I’ve owned dozens of flight sticks and HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) systems, equipment that works best with military combat simulations. The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke system is only the second primarily civilian flight controller system that I’ve tried in more than a quarter century of gaming. It comes ready with support for both Windows XP and Vista.

The Saitek PFYS is not a complex device, although it is not as simple to use as the competition. Inside the box is a premium crafted flight yoke and a separate throttle quadrant. Each piece comes complete with a single corkscrew clamping system.

The yoke has a durable looking stainless steel shaft, a step up from the plastic shaft on the competition’s device. The throttle quadrant contains three axis levers for throttle, propeller control and mixture. The quadrant has the unique ability to be mounted either horizontally or vertically.

Mounting the PFYS is what leads me to my main criticism: most sim flyers will have to mount this device to their keyboard shelf. You heard me.

Why Saitek decided to engineer a flight yoke with a clamping system that is too large to mount on the desktop above the keyboard shelf escapes me. In my opinion, this is a major design blunder. Most PC gamers that I know have desktops with pull out keyboard shelves. Unless you’re willing to mount the PFYS on the keyboard shelf – requiring you to find someplace else to put your keyboard, a controller you still need, by the way – you had better invest in a desk with a large desktop surface and no keyboard shelf. Moreover, some keyboard shelves will be too narrow to accommodate the size and sustain the weight of the PFYS and throttle quadrant. In case you’re wondering, CH Products’ venerable flight yoke has a clamping system as effective and it mounts easily to my desktop above the keyboard shelf.

Clamping the yoke to the pullout keyboard shelf resulted in the PFYS being a little too close to my knees. It took some time before I felt comfortable with the controller. The tight spaced feeling was exacerbated when I connected the Saitek Pro Rudder Pedals. I’m just below six feet in height and I was not entirely comfortable. Taller flight simmers might experience even more discomfort unless, of course, they can mount the PFYS on a desktop instead of the keyboard shelf.