CH Products Pro Pedals USB Flight Simulator Pedals (300-111)

I also just got the CH yoke and really like it, and I am just as satisfied with these pedals. As I said in the yoke review, I don't think any device is going to perfectly replicate the sensation of flight and flight controls, so it's a matter of how much money you want to spend and what you consider "close enough to the real thing." People have varying opinions on what counts as close to the real thing, but the truth is, it's all an imitation. For me, a big deciding factor was price, and having something I consider "close enough". These pedals succeed.Way back in the FS98 days I had some Thrustmaster pedals that were really hard to push and felt horribly unrealistic (I was flying real gliders at the time). I returned them. These CH pedals are looser and easier to operate. People have complained they are too loose, but I disagree. They feel fine to me. The Pro pedals are also not too close together; I think some people have complained about other CH pedals being too close together, but the pro ones feel fine to me. Real rudder pedals often are fairly close together, similar to these pedals. The tilting action to work brakes is also a big help when taxiing.I sawed a 45 degree 2x4 for the corner of my room under my desk for the pedals to bump up against. They are on carpet, and they are heavy enough to not move at all.The default planes in FSX have terrible rudder characteristics, so it took some adjusting in the configuration program to get things feeling normal to me. Not the pedals fault - I blame FSX default planes mostly. Getting good addon planes helps also (don't even bother with the FSX J3 Cub).I haven't felt the Saitek pedals before and I'm sure they're nice, but these pedals feel sufficient to me.

Long time owner and user. They have held up well over the years, though the right toe pedal no longer returns to the 0 position when at rest. It's a minor nuisance which I can be worked around using their software. Otherwise I have found them to be sturdy and reliable.I would never fly a flight simulator--especially a WWII combat simulator--without some type of rudder pedals. I have come to depend on the ability of a completely separate axis to move my rudder. This is especially important for adjusting my nose as I fire my guns or cannon. I don't want to twist my joystick that is already controlling my pitch and rotation. The separated axes allow for more precision--even if it's done with my clumsy feet.My biggest complaint about these pedals is they're not comfortable for prolonged use because they're too close together, and being a guy, I don't normally have my feet that close together for extended periods of time. I ended up building my own custom set of pedals, and I roughly doubled the distance of the Ch Products pedals. I find that to be much more comfortable. I believe that the pedals from Saitek are also about double the distance. If I had to buy pedals again I would be inclined to get the Saitek ones for comfort.My biggest joy in using these pedals has been the Control Manager software that comes with all Ch Products stuff. I found it a bear to learn, but was happy that I invested the time. Its support for scripting makes it the most powerful controller software I've used. For example, I programmed the toe pedals to fire my jump jets (by emulating the keyboard key command) in MechWarrior--but only when *both* of them were rotated at least 75%. That condition of *both* being rotated to the degree I choose is what made it easy to avoid accidentally emulating the command because I had inadvertently rotated one of the pedals. That's something you can only do through scripting.Another example. The game IL-2 doesn't support differential braking. It does, however, support analog input for braking, but only using one axis. Scripting again provided the answer. I programmed the Control Manager to emulate the axis that was assigned in the game whenever the other toe pedal was used. It doesn't make the game support differential braking, of course, but it does allow me to use either toe pedal for braking--and that's what I'm used to.Another feature that has been handy is the Control Manager's ability to combine multiple Ch Products controllers into single virtual controllers. Again, this helps to get around limitations in games and simulators that only support either one controller (sometimes selectable, sometimes whichever is recognized by Windows as occupying ID one--they're sorted by vendor codes which cannot be altered except in obsolete Windows OSs) or a limited number of controllers. Consider IL-2 again. It supports the first four controllers as sorted by Windows. If you have a yoke, pedals, flight stick, throttle, trim wheels, throttle quadrants, etc., then it requires plugging and unplugging of the controllers depending on the types of planes you want to fly. You also have to restart your game and reconfigure the axis settings each time you switch. I was able to eliminate all that by Ch Products' software. I just consolidated all my Ch Products gear into a smaller number of controllers, and then I able to fairly easily use the controls I wanted with the planes I wanted--and it took a fraction of a time to change.I have never used the Saitek pedals myself, so if you're wondering which you should buy, I can only say that you'll likely find them more comfortable because of the distance between the pedals, but you'll also find them less functional because the Saitek software (although quite good and easy to learn and use) just can't approach what the Ch Products Control Manager can do.If the Ch Products pedals were farther apart, I'd rate this 5 out of 5 stars. One star taken away for comfort.

This review will talk about both the CH Rudder Pedals and the CH Flight Yoke USB.I finally got around to purchasing these rudder pedals from Amazon after accepting that I was NEVER going to find this item in stores. (...)Getting to the point...these pedals are a must have for serious flightsimmers...especially if you own Microsoft Flight Simulator and like to fly general aviation or the large commercial heavies. I also purchased the USB CH Flight Yoke for $99.74; the difference these 2 items make to the simming experience can't be stressed enough. If you ever got the guilty feeling after mastering the greased landing with the Boeing 747 or other heavy aircraft (the feeling that it's unrealistically easy), then this is the next level. It takes a lot more concentration and coordination to master flight using yoke and rudder as opposed to just a joystick or keyboard...just keep your hands off the yoke while going down the runway or taxiing, and you should be able to keep things in order! You may also consider purchasing the CH Throttle; that's going to be next on my list, because using the throttle controls as they are postitioned on the yoke are a little inconvenient for some aircraft that require constant changes in throttle position.Overall, I'm satisfied with the construction of the pedals; they weigh in at around 6 pounds and feel fairly solid and sturdy. The motion is fairly smooth with the application of both rudder and toe brakes. They work well. Not much more you can say about that. The same can be said about the construction of the yoke...fairly solid considering. I would like to have seen a little less tension on the yoke personally. Unless you are trimmed close to overtrimmed status, you have to give it a good pull to get airborne. I haven't studied it long enough to see how that REALLY compares between heavy versus light aircraft. But again, I think that only speaks to the construction of the unit and the strength of the clamp setup; pulling back on that unit with a fair amount of force and the unit doesn't budge from the desk. The yoke may take some getting used to based on where it will sit on your desk...in my case, there is about a half an inch beneath the fastened clamps to allow for my slide out keyboard tray, which was enough space in my case. I could see a potential problem in that area for others.I've read about complaints with the clamp system on the yoke, but I'd like to meet the guy that can think of a better solution to keep the unit stationary on your desktop...no problems with my particular desk and the clamps. What I've read is that people with lips or other unperfect edges may have problems since the surface area of the clamps is small. Again, not a problem with my particular desk. Another con that I read about and can somewhat concur with is the trim quality. I find myself having to adjust the elevator trim more frequently with changes in speed than with my joystick...on approach this can be viewed as a nuisance or part of the greater challenge. I'll have to give it some time to decide on that one. It may be that it's just easier overall with a joystick. I was looking for more realism and a greater challenge when I purchased the yoke and rudder.Installation was a breeze in Windows XP; just plug them in and they are ready to go. They come with a cd with any drivers that may not be installed already, and also games (so, I've heard...MSFS is my favorite past time, probably wouldn't fly anything else that I don't already own anyway). Another good thing about this unit and MSFS is that it is recognized as a separate controller. I have used the pedals in combination with the flight yoke as well as my Saitek X52 Flight Control system when I needed a joystick and not a yoke for flying fighters or even general aviation aircraft that have sticks and not yokes.Finally, both the yoke and rudder are a very good investment for the hobby. You'll find yourself enjoying the hobby more and actually steering clear of the autopilot controls. Hope this gives you some things to think about.