737(ng) Yoke??

[Geremy Britton]

Hi, i'm experimenting to try and find a realistic looking boeing 737 yoke. I own the CH virtual pilot yoke however it isn't the 737 style but more like a cessna or something. Has anyone been successful in making a reasonably simple yet realistic boeing yoke for a reasonable price?

Note: bearing in mind i only have basic wiring and soldering skills

[Michael Carter]

Precision Flight Controls offers a Boeing yoke either desk mounted or column mounted. They are pricey at around $1200. US

It would be cheaper to buy a yoke and build your own control column. You could do it for way under half of that amount.

If you have another yoke you are currently using, you can use the electronics from it to eliminate some of the wiring and interfacing problems you might face if you started from scratch.

You will still have to build the gear arrangement for the left/right movement, but it's not too difficult to do. The fore and aft movement is much easier and only requires an arm and a rod connected to the column and the pot to rotate it.

Anyone with a modest amount of mechanical ability can build their own and save quite a lot of money.

If you elect to build your own, make sure that the yoke you purchase has all of the required switches and at least 8"-10" of the original wiring harness intact. If you have to fill holes for missing switches it may cost as much as the yoke itself. They are quite high if you can even find replacements.