In our ever-searching quest for realism and bang for buck, we decided to take a look at a piece of home flight simulation hardware that’s really got people talking – the Honeycomb Aeronautical Alpha Flight Controls Yoke and Switch Panel. There have been some fantastic software developments over the last couple of years for PC based flight simulation, but we feel the hardware market hasn’t seen much in the way of innovation when it comes to yokes, which has up until now been dominated by a couple of major players. Here’s what we think of the Honeycomb yoke from an airline pilot’s point of view.
Overview
Honeycomb Aeronautical are a new player to the home PC flight simulation market, but they most certainly are not new to flight simulation. Based in California, USA, the company have been making FAA approved flight simulation components for many years. Designed and developed by real aerospace engineers and real pilots, the Honeycomb Alpha Flight Controls Yoke and Switch Panel is their entry into this market and from a first glance we think this yoke will lead the way providing a very realistic flight feel for a surprisingly affordable price.
The product is a standalone home PC simulation yoke, designed for all the major PC based home flight simulators, with a switch panel and magneto/ignition rotary switch, intended for home simmers, flight students, and qualified pilots.
Features
- 180° rotating yoke handle with approx. 15cm pitch axis travel
- Yoke mounted view, trim, PTT and general switches
- 9 switch panel (lights, battery/alternator and avionics)
- 5 position ignition/magneto switch
- Adjustable LED backlighting
- Yoke mounting system
- 2-year warranty – although we’d expect the product to last much longer than this!
- Unlimited tech support
Feel and Function
The yoke feels very solid and durable, most likely due to its composition of metallic parts and solid plastics. The steel yoke shaft and aerospace grade internal components should prove long lasting and the plastics don’t feel cheap – very comparable to high end flight and gaming joysticks and similar to the plastics that you would find on a plush car trim. The heavy weight of the item and multiple surface fixing options mean the yoke is easy to mount, and doesn’t move around with use (we tested it using the desktop mount which was very sturdy).
The yoke motion comprises of the X and Y axis’s/axies. The roll axis (X) is very smooth, well damped and self-centring. What we particularly like is the full 180° rotation that is possible. In most flight control yokes, this axis has a limited range of travel, but the Honeycomb yoke is more authentic and representative of what you would find in a real aircraft. However, we have found the yoke to be rather ‘stiff’ in the pitch (Y) axis. This is particularly noticeable when flying the bigger and heavier aircraft such as large bizjets and airliners, where the usual control column movements are much slighter and fewer than in light GA aircraft. What it does do though is emphasise the age old need to trim the aircraft frequently and properly, which the pilot now has plenty of opportunity to practise.
That leads us nicely onto the unit switchgear. The number and function of the buttons is clear from the description and photos, so we’ll concentrate on our findings rather than a simple description. It’s nice to see such a variety of selectors and switches on a yoke and these are catered firmly towards general aviation. The 5-way magneto/ignition switch is a good addition for light aircraft flying, and although not spring loaded as it would be in the actual aeroplane, it does add to the simulation and realism. The switches are well placed and have correct and useful pre-set functionality. The split trim switches have a nice feel and operation to them and are representative of what you would find on any aircraft with this trim system.
One switch does affect the yoke’s usability in some circumstances, and that is the location of the view HAT switch. We feel the yoke has to be operated with pedals and a throttle which apart from incurring additional cost on top, may lead to an issue of right and left-handed use. The yoke is set for flying from the Captain’s left side seating position (quite rightly) and as such, the left hand would be on the control and the viewing HAT switch and push to talk (PTT) would be conveniently located. Some throttles with a HOTAS configuration are set as they would be in a fighter cockpit, where the control stick is in the pilot’s right hand and the throttle in the left – these cannot be changed or configured to fly using the other hand. This is not a Honeycomb product limitation as there are plenty of throttles that would work (including their own system being released soon), but something we felt you should be aware of compatibility-wise with the other products on the market and when making your choice of hardware to go with the yoke.
An issue identified in other reviews, mentions a noticeable flight control movement dead band in the roll axis, and the yoke has to be moved beyond this to register some control movement in the simulation software. We acknowledge there is something there (not that we would have noticed perhaps if we weren’t looking for it), but its worth nothing that there is a degree of this on nearly all flight simulation yokes we have used. It can normally be attributed to the calibration process, but it doesn’t detract really at all from the flying experience in our opinion.
Compatibility
The yoke has been tested with FSX, X-Plane 11 and Prepar3D and our test platform was XP11. It was very easy to connect via a USB-C cable and the yoke can be used with both Mac and PC hardware.
Pricing
The Honeycomb Aeronautical yoke is on the pricier side when comparing to other similar gaming level flight simulation yokes. However, when you compare the whole market, and bear in mind the additional functionality and quality of the unit, then we fell it compares very favourably.
Below are market average prices for (in our opinion) comparable products.
To qualify our findings, it is worth noting:
- The Saitek Pro Flight Yoke is purely a yoke, with only a few buttons and would be considered an entry level yoke. However, for the price it is an excellent option, perfectly serviceable and we would certainly recommend for the lower budget.
- The CH Product Eclipse Yoke has some engine controls on it, but looks and feels cheaper than the Honeycomb yoke.
- Yoko the yoke is a pure yoke, very basic, but has a good feel and movement to it and is FAA certified for flight training – hence it’s price. We would not recommend for the average home flight simulator used. It’s great as part of an integrated flight simulation cockpit for training.
- The Elite Pro Panel SE is a comprehensive set up, but aimed at and certified for the training market once again. At its price point, we would not recommend for the average home flight simulator user.
Summary
We think this has to be the best flight simulation yoke that can be purchased at this price point. It has an excellent feel to it, very functional switchgear and just as importantly looks good. Whilst we feel the yoke will require you to separately purchase rudder pedals and a throttle unit at not insignificant additional expense, we think you will have the best flight simulation yoke that can be purchased at this price point.