Flight Simulator Controls - The Essentials

Yoke

The first piece of equipment you will encounter is the flight sim yoke, which is very similar to the actual airplane yokes. It is mainly used during civilian simulation. It is not so easy to use a yoke for combat simulators because of the limited flexibility, which is why most pro flight simmers have both yoke and joysticks for civilian and combat flight games. As a beginner, though, it is best to start with civilian sims before going combat so you will get experience with a yoke first.

The yoke is mounted onto your desktop and helps you monitor and control the engine, time and quadrants, among other functions. Most yokes are designed and function almost exactly like the real thing, so you will have all the amazing features of an actual plane yoke.

Rudder Pedals

These are for braking and controlling the rudder, on the aircraft, and they come with 3 axis functions, which are toe braking, left braking and right braking. If the game supports it, the harder or lighter you push on the pedals, the harder or lighter the brakes are applied in flight. As an added advantage, these brakes can also be used for driving games, so it is usually easier to transition from driving to flight sim braking functions.

Throttle

The next most important control you will find is the throttle, which can be bought separately or together with the yoke. The throttle helps you monitor and control the power and fuel in the plane whether civilian or combat. It usually has 3 controls for this function and it is absolutely essential for flight simulators.

Hands-on-Throttle-and-Stick Control System

The Hands-on-Throttle-and-Stick, or HOTAS, is a flight sim control system that you can use instead of all the keyboard controls when playing. It makes it a lot easier when you have minimal distractions like looking for the key when in combat. Most flight simulators are better with HOTAS systems and you will find these under many different brand names and designs.

Twist stick

The last control is the twist stick, which is a joystick that is twistable and it accesses the sim rudder function. It is better than getting pedals, though some flight sim fans do prefer pedals than the twist stick.

These are the main flight simulator controls that you will need to be familiar with before you venture into flight sim games.