Using the PFYS with Flight Simulator 2004, I found controlling everything from Cessnas to 737s to be smooth and predictable. Quite honestly, there isn’t much else to say about a flight yoke. Clamped to a desk, you don’t experience variations in weight like you do with a flight stick. You don’t have to concern yourself with détentes (although you can find them in the PFYS throttle) or whether the device centers itself or has a dead zone that is too small or too large. If the software program recognizes your controller within game, and if your sim aircraft banks, dives and climbs the way it is supposed to, you’re in business.

Between the two devices there are 14 buttons, which can be programmed to perform almost any function you choose, a three-position mode switch, a POV hat switch, elevator and aileron axes on the yoke, and the three aforementioned axis levers. The yoke has an integrated LCD chronograph on the front that you can use to keep track of your flight time, and three handy USB ports on the back of the unit.

Overall, the Saitek PFYS is a sturdy, accurate controller that should provide years of reliable performance and enhance your civilian flight simulator experience.