Just got the Yawman controller, first impressions out of the box are hmmmm.... Lots and lots of options for it and assignments to be made. Needs sensitivity and null zones right out of the box. Should be able to do that inside the sim.
Starting to like it. The joystick needed to be 'broken in' just a bit more so their support (literally the guy who designed it) has been working with me to sort through some issues. He said they try to break the joysticks in at the factory but don't always get them 100% broken in. Anyways with a little forceful pressure, the joystick is seeing 100% control throws now. Their documentation mentions specifically that the linked rudder 'paddles' as I'll call them, won't always center back to the neutral point. I was able to overcome this by adding a dead zone to the middle of the control input. I've also tweaked the sensitivities for a few of the other control axis.
Now as for what I think after tweaking it and learning to fly the sim with it: It's a pretty slick piece of kit. I can run almost an entire flight without reaching for the mouse or keyboard. I have yet to fully bind all the controls to everything that I want but even without that, I am really starting to like it. It is very sensitive and once you learn to handle it correctly, it does indeed allow for very precise control inputs, think doing wheel landings in a taildragger! Is it a HOTAS, of course not, and it's not ever going to be one. Is it something small enough to pack with a gaming laptop and take on the road with you and still be able to enjoy the sim, absolutely. For me with just a fairly vanilla Alienware laptop, it's way better than trying to plug in a bunch of peripherals.
So far I've only used it with single engine props. So I'm looking to expand the envelope to other aircraft. As with any controller, it is fully customizable for any and all airplanes.
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