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Flying your flight simulator with the best controls greatly increases the fun and pleasure factor. Of course we are looking for the most realistic experience when we spend time flying with our simulator. Using the keyboard and mouse isn't the most realistic, how many keyboards and mouse have you seen in a real aircraft cockpit?

To increase the fun and pleasure you get out of your flight simulator, you need to have the right controls. Of course we are looking for the most realistic experience when we spend time flying with our simulator. Using the keyboard and mouse isn't the most realistic, how many keyboards and mouse have you seen in a real aircraft cockpit?

To jump to the next level of realism, you will soon end up wanting a flight sim yoke. When you encounter anything for the first time, you may have questions and not understand all of the features exactly. Here we will explain some of the features of one of the most popular flight sim yokes on the market, the Saitek Pro file system.

The first and most important feature is the elevator and aileron control. The control of the pitch and banking of the aircraft are after all the main reason to get a yoke. If you have been flying for any length of time, you will know that the elevator controls the pitch and the ailerons control the bank angle of the aircraft. The Saitek flight sim yoke offers a precision control so it has a realistic feel to it. The problem you can sometimes have with using joysticks instead of yokes is that the joystick won't center or calibrate properly and will not fly straight and level. This is generally not a problem with a flight sim yoke, especially if it has a precision control.

The Saitek flight simulator yoke comes with fourteen button controls. You may wonder what do you need with 14 buttons. You will actually be happy with fourteen buttons as they can be programmed for any of the aircraft controls. This saves you from using the keyboard. It is much more realistic to adjust flaps or lower the landing gear with a button on the yoke than using the keyboard. In fact you can program the buttons to function as any control you would like and may not have to use the keyboard at all.

A most important feature that is sometimes overlooked is how it will be secured. If you are using the yoke at your desk, it needs to be secured. A feature of the Saitek yoke is that it has a two position desk clamp that you can use to make sure it is held firmly in place. You certainly don't want the yoke coming off the desk or table when you are in the midst of a difficult takeoff or landing.