DIY 3D Printed Flight Yoke for 2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator

[@michaelrechtin]

Thanks for watching! For all the files, code, and a parts list for this project, check the description. Also, sorry about the audio issue.

[@jayhamm34]

Thanks, I asked before checking. Great video!

[@carroconzapato]

Good video

[@Deltawolf2022]

What size 3d printer bed do you need to do this?

[@jayhamm34]

@@Deltawolf2022 I used an ender 3 v2 but had to split the yoke in half and super glue it back together. I tilted it originally and it fit on the print bed, but one of the supports came loose half way through the 36 hr print. Didn’t want to risk it so I broke it up.

[@Deltawolf2022]

@@jayhamm34 I was just looking at the Ender 3 V2. I have been looking into 3d printing for some time, haven't bought yet, I hear it can be hard to set up but has a great community to help out.

[@Tomer-The-Pilot]

Finally someone make a cheap flight Yoke system for 3D printing. A few notes from a private pilot: 1. On a real aircraft the two buttons on the Yoke are for A/P disengage and PTT. 2. The quadrant levers should be (from left to right)- Throttle (Black), propeller pitch control (Blue) and mixer (Red). 3. The brakes on a real aircraft are integrated in the rudder pedals (Press on each top to engage). Thank you for your hard work for the community!

[@Dixon_1974]

Wonderful suggestions!

[@yigitgungor]

Came here to tell the exact same thing :) But one addition to your comment, I have seen people use the blue lever on the right most of the quadrans as the flap controller for fixed-prop planes in the simulator. Highest setting being flaps 0, lowest being flaps 30.

[@tigerchills2079]

I know Push To Talk, but what is A/P? edit: maybe auto-pilot? deactivating auto pilot via yoke, I guess.

[@zaviationn]

@@tigerchills2079 yup, you are correct!

[@indianmarshmello.]

also, yoke moves 90 degrees bank either direction for full aileron deflection

[@sammyairlines9307]

Michael, excellent video. I have printed out the throttle quadrant and noticed 2 things you might already know. 1 there is no exit from the base for the wiring. No biggy, drill a hole and use a grommet. 2 the button cover needs cut to go over the last pot. Again no biggy just letting you know there are builds going on. Thanks for the excellent work. I was just starting to look around for a yoke when this popped up.

[@simpilothr6653]

Mhmm yes, "Throttle, Flaps and Slats" Slats are usually used in bigger aircraft and automatically extend relative to the flap's position. What I suggest you to put those throttle levers for (if you still haven't but I'm sure you've done that already), from left to right, is: Throttle, usually IRL is painted in black Propeller Pitch/Angle...one of those for sure, painted in blue Mixture, painted in red. Another thing to note, in planes like the Cessna (where the yoke is most likely originated from). Since the 3 main things in aviation ("Aviate, Navigate, Communicate") are very crucial for flying in today's airspace, you would usually have those buttons for either the AP disengage or PPT (Push To Talk). But, then again, it's your preference. For all the aviators out there, 6:51 Vref hehe get it? xDD

[@cptmm4061]

I was Looking for a vref comment lol

[@athr_blu]

I am a aerospace engineer and I got both references :p

[@Cinemaaereo]

Please don't forget to leveling the music with your voice. The music is exploding brains with headphone.

[@shinseiryu]

I watch to watch but the random super loud music is killing me.

[@wvbigdavesieko]

Yeah the music was waaaayyy tooo loud. Please don't do that again. Also, I hope you got a better mic.

[@electronicscaos]

@@wvbigdavesieko he's probably going to 3D print a better mic 😂

[@COW879]

It hurt

[@TheMaskedDog]

Y’all need better headphones, I don’t have this issue .

[@burnttoast111]

Old-school Russian-style pedals, which is cool. Rudder pedals on US planes typically have toe brakes, where you can rotate your foot forward to engage the brake on the left or right gear (or both).

[@dogsbd]

Great pedal design, looks like it would be very simple to add toe brakes as well.

[@sausage5849]

That's impressive engineering right there! Especially the pedals! Subbed up straight away.

[@scottsackrider475]

Grabbed the files.... Thanks! More to follow. Even in 2024, this seems to be the best video on this.

[@Teklectic]

Very nice! I like your design for the rudder pedals much better than the one I came up with for mine, it's a much more elegant solution; mine used drawer slides to constrain the pedals and a belt reduction from the centre pivot to the potentiometer, direct meshing gears make more sense, especially with plastic gears where you can get the gear lash to basically nothing.

[@crckdns]

I never've thought about DIY controller/Joystick/HOTAS! thanks for that simple idea! I'm gonna probably build a HOTAS controller myself but using hall sensors instead of potentiometers :)

[@maff1917]

Just to let you know, your Video made it to my KZbin front page. Which means somethings. Have a very happy and healthy christmas :)

[@mmgbtv]

Goddamn dude, you just about blew out my speakers in my living room

[@mikedoug7]

Yes, I have to agree... The third time you blasted the music I just about closed the browser tab. Bad form to have your voice so low and then blast your music at your viewers.

[@MrKelaher]

great pedal design - congrats !

[@lxlrvfx1764]

Enjoyed this more than a lot of people’s content with 1000 times your subs :)

[@HorthornNZ]

You have given me some ideas how to modify my thrustmaster pedals to stop them being sticky

[@porouscrump]

Hey man. Printed your throttle quadrant and rudder pedals. GREAT work! Thank you so much, you've got my sub.

[@VRFlightSimGuy]

Have to say, this is extremely impressive work. Nice job!

[@bevobus]

Awesome stuff. Thank you very much. I'm in the planning stages of building a Condor Gliding simulator. This really help answer some of the issues I've been trying to solve in my head.

[@AGeekNamedRoss]

Nice build. Very nice. I just wish the pedals had toe brakes.

[@aviation2simulator581]

Impressive and clean construction, Michael!

[@leonschutz6094]

Just awesome! Started printing right now

[@suninmoon4601]

Impressive work, dude! Really inspirational 💪🏽

[@chrisbowpiloto]

I liked this after the intro, very well done! I am working on a joystick and rudder pedals now, but I will probably start on your yoke soon after I am done with these

[@joe_snuffy]

Nice work. I was just about to sit down and start designing my own rudder pedals. Looking at your design definitely helped me simplify some of the things I was trying to accomplish. Thanks for the inspiration. Also, your yoke game me a few ideas as well.

[@48days]

You should change out your rudder pedals with pedals that can tilt forward. This is how you brake on a real aircraft. Plus, having an independent axis for the brakes on each side makes maneuvering on the ground much more realistic.

[@theenchiladakid1866]

The old XBox one pad makes a good start for a flight setup

[@MrDoItAll.]

How to make, like the wiring or something but is there a instruction sheet?

[@keatoncampbell820]

My only 'gripe' would be to use long cheap tensions springs instead of rubber bands. Just from a longevity POV, rubber can dry rot and fall apart, especially under load. It's not a real plane so of course you could always add more bands if they break, I just like tension springs! The yoke is sick, btw. Using the linear slides might have been convenient, but its a great idea. I have a bunch of extra ball bearing drawer sliders, so I'll prolly use those, however my old printer now looks so strange all not scrapped... (oh yeah the levers which actuate on the pots, any particular reason you didn't give them a bearing/axle to ride on, which the pot could be nested in? seeing a pot being a little bit of structural member makes me sad for the pot lol)

[@ikkeennigij121]

first of all, wonderfull. I've gotten myself a 3D printer with this in mind and now I have it I think it's time I bite the bullet, your video gave me the motivation to do it challenge for you (if at all feasible ): make the flight conrols wireless (bluetooth)

[@michaelrechtin]

That's Awesome! Funny enough, one of the reasons I wanted to use an ESP32 initially is that it has Bluetooth built in. However, I think making a Bluetooth joystick would require some device driver type programming which I have no experience in. Definitely something to look into though!

[@ikkeennigij121]

@@michaelrechtin (should you ever want to start) was just looking around and this guy seems to have figured it out, his code is in the comments watch?v=CmIby3AIlVc

[@Pokerman536]

While feasible, ESP32s and ESP8266 consume a lot of power. I believe the batteries would drain pretty fast

[@ikkeennigij121]

@@Pokerman536 Do you by any chance have a ballpark figure off consumption? (I understand it depends on the loads but you seem to have an idea..)

[@Badd.G]

step 1 : get a 3D printer, mission failed we'll get them next time

[@lpburke86]

A good one can be had brand new for under $200. Thats not a good enough excuse.

[@nicholaslau3194]

@@lpburke86 Don't judge by how much people can afford. $200 may not be an amount which everyone can afford.

[@lpburke86]

​@@nicholaslau3194 Computer or Console $300+ Flight Simulator $100 Other games $50 to $100 each 3d Printer that does so much more than play one game $200 Oh no... that's too much. I can't afford that. It's an excuse. and a bullshit one at that.

[@Leao7080]

​@@lpburke86 getting a 3d printer just for this project doesnt seem reasonable either unless you have a ton of projects that you have in mind and is beneficial to you than yeah get one.

[@lpburke86]

@@Leao7080 So a $200 printer, that you could sell when youre done) to make $700 worth of controllers doesnt make sense? Do you even understand math?

[@alessandro4543]

Hi, could you post the electric circuit schema? Because in the google drive folder there isn't... Or someone that have already built it could provide it? I've print everything but i've some troubles with the connections. Thankyou so much and obviously amazing video!

[@joebloggs430]

Hi fantastic vid, and thanks for going to all the effort of documenting it for us !

[@ayu12641]

Have a look at the STM32 blue pill. It has a 12bit ADC and USB interface. It is also Arduino compatible, cheap and plenty powerful.

[@pieterpretorius1014]

teensy 2 ++ has a crap load of pins so could also work

[@KofiAsare0]

Amazing design! I currently have one of those mediocre Logitec/Saitek yokes and want to make it much more realistic, this definitely pushes me to start!

[@djtaylorutube]

Yes it's good but it's also easy to massively improve the Saitek yoke by removing the springs and replacing with rubber bands and bypass the aileron and elevator interface and using a higher resolution controller such as a leobodnar board. I also reinforced my handle with aluminium plate inside and filled some of the cavities with resin. It's really smooth now, doesn't creak or flex and nicely weighed.

[@KofiAsare0]

@@djtaylorutube yeah definitely, as of now I've only replaced the default board with an arduino and the resolution is much better plus no dead zone. Now I really want to make it force feedback.

[@djtaylorutube]

@@KofiAsare0 Ah same thought but I'm not sure I'll bother. What I am keen to play with is a moving reference for the "centre" point of the elevator rubber bands. I figure that if I drive this with a servo (could even do it entirely mechanically), I will get a more realistic trim behaviour. I do have a Cessna trim wheel but this requires slight coordination of returning the yoke to centre while trimming but I'd the trim moves the "centre" point which could be on linear rails then I think it'll be good enough. Other than ground bumps, trim is the only real force experienced that's really significant in small GA aircraft.

[@Osky-Bosky]

omg i needed this

[@oculicious]

Please dont cut your video with music that is 3 times louder than your voice, it's super annoying having to constantly change volume, also really great and informative video

[@patrickmaartense7772]

agree on the pedal design, looks very nice and sturdy at the same time, better then the logitech versions probably as well f you want to use an ESp32 for input , use i2c for communication between the arduino and the ESP I have a full set of semi pro gear, but still design some inovative other stuff for the sim ( xplane that is ) and decided to use only esp32 and do comms via Wifi ( dont think it works yet in fs2020) this give the possibility to use devices like a accelerometer for yoke inputs or even a simple flightstick that can be handheld using batteries, or like in my case mount to a chair or use in a fully fledged cockpit thank you very much for posting your video, gave me some nice ideas ( using the rods and bearings is one of them)

[@KaliKavala]

Awesome project. Always was thinking of such thing. Good job with constructing and building it, u have spent a lot of time for that. ;) Would subscribe 👍

[@radpaul2574]

I might do this to go with my Garmin 3d printed G1000 NXI. Looks doable!

[@jefmore562]

hi michael thanks for sharing your knowledge. I would appreciate if you could show the electrical diagrams of the throttle quadrant and the yoke.

[@airspeed-alive]

AWESOME! Congratulations my friend!

[@larsthestorf5630]

On an ESP32 you could use bluetooth to input wirelessly to the computer

[@dalek-dan-1]

great project and very good video, thanks for sharing. just one thing though all my ESP32 boards have a USB interface so I was surprised when you said they didn't.

[@TheTeknikFrik]

The USB on ESP32 boards are just usb-to-serial bridges, not an actual USB controller capable of becoming e.g. an USB HID (joystick, mouse, etc)

[@skidz8426]

maybe a suggestion is to make a Amazon list with all the parts in it. IDK if you ever had a list of things went over it, ok got it all, just make sure, yep got it. get home and forgot something. especially if you have alot of this stuff I personally would rather buy some extra toggle switcher that I forgot to remove from the cart rather then forget 8mm linear bearing. because I passed it up. anyway thanks for the build.

[@flybobbie1449]

You know i really need to make a good force feed back yoke. Would be simple to have a mechanical trim to remove pitch load, just needs a moving neutral position. Also use Leo Bodnar module has all the analogue inputs you need.

[@RealMenWorshipZeus]

A lot of people have asked and I didn't see any replies, but I'm still hopeful. I put together all the parts, but am stuck on the circuit diagram. Any chance you can describe the wiring to the microcontroller? Even a few pictures added to the drive folder would be a HUGE help. Trying to build this for my daughter and am really bummed to have put in this much time and material just to get stuck and give up. Just can't seem to figure it out.:(

[@xorlux]

Cool stuff my guy ;) , keep making awesome content

[@jgrold]

Excellent Yoke and rudder pedals!! And thanks you to share with us!!

[@icefreezer7]

What screws do you use with those mounting hubs?

[@Bugkiller666]

I love it !!! I may make my own based on your design !! Thanks for sharing !!

[@sgruffyogruffy7609]

Michael Rechtin, Thank you for the designs and 3D print files. I just finished 3D printing all of the parts and I am ready to assemble. However, I did not find a spec on the size and type of screws you used in the design. Do you have a size and type of screws for each component or total for both the yoke and pedals?

[@jonnionthespot8419]

Could you share a wiring diagram for the Arduino and a complete list of the hardware you used? Thanks.

[@yoyo-sm5vv]

That's impressive! Watching from Egypt

[@misterofe]

El mejor aporte a la realización de un cabina que he visto. Excelente trabajo. Lo felicito.

[@seanoboyle4095]

Looks great! Great attention to detail.

[@acestu]

Hi Michael, I bought the bearings and printed the pinion to test the tolerances, however my ender3 v2 prints the pinion bearing hole about 1mm too small so the bearing does not fit, I just wondered if the step files are available anywhere ? , Great Project Thank You !

[@a.nelprober4971]

You're a hero, especially with the current economic situation

[@jaircr4ft237]

Yokes rotate 90 degrees, you will have more control that way

[@HAWXLEADER]

It's actually easier to implement it as 90 deg, simply connect it directly to the potentiometer

[@BobbansRobobtics]

Instead of using an esp32 for the added DAC resolution you can use an external DAC like the ADS 1115. This has a resoulution of 16bits and as an added bonus you can use more analog signals due to the multiplexing capabilities of the DAC. I get that you wanted to keep cost low and didnt want to wait for parts, but for future project you could consider this. Great video though, love the content and keep up the good work.

[@AF29007]

Alternatively use digital pots and read data via a common SPI/I2C bus, have all the sensors connected on a single wire!

[@RealMenWorshipZeus]

This video is amazing (liked and subscribed for sure!). I've printed all my parts and bought stuff on Amazon and am knee deep in assembly and my low skill on the electronics end is really bringing everything to a grinding halt. Any chance you have a wiring diagram to help pathetic noobs like me finish this thing? Can't wait to fly!

[@johnhersom6002]

Did you ever find a wiring diagram? I'm in the exact same boat as you right now

[@noceur7801]

whats that spacer before the hub he put at 1:37? and i also was wondering the dimensions of the shaft used for the yoke

[@Waylander131]

great easy-to-build design, well done! One note though: some of the parts will not fit a standard 220x220mm print bed so you need something bigger or you'll have to slice in parts and re-assemble after that. I mean the yoke wheel as well as the pedals bar.

[@mattice9083]

Found that out as I'm printing now but a small price to pay. This is awesome.

[@tunigkhan4942]

Amazing video man. Cheapest one I could find yet. It looks pretty cool but how am I gonna find the right sized bearings, screws etc?

[@MyRCChannel-CJScott]

OUTSTANDING! I hope you're going to school to study engineering. Your designs are elegantly simple with imaginative solutions in the mechanisms. Thank you for making the 3d files available. If I build one, I will do a video or two and I'll be sure to credit you as well as link to your video and channel. Currently I run a channel focused on RC cars and planes. I'll be launching a sim channel soon (early 2021) with the focus on car racing to start. I used to fly sims too, so I may have to build a set of controls based on your designs and start covering flight sims as well. An interesting mod would be to add a "dashboard" to the yoke using a 7" Fire tablet ($55)... I'll bet someone makes the software for such a thing. There are several offerings for the race car sims. A lot of controls could be manipulated via the touchscreen. It would be easy to print a frame for the tablet. Leave the top open like a slot so the tablet can be easily removed and replaced making configuration and maintenance easier... food for thought. Happy Holidays, CJ

[@marcdraco2189]

I'm lying here grinning like an idiot. Those look nearly as good as the Honeycomb and will work just as well.

[@videotrexx]

You shouldn't be flying, even in a simulation, if your vision is that bad.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Pft 750 subs? This is really nice, totally going to do that. :)

[@Mustard5284]

this type of stuff makes me really want a 3d printer

[@ottocubano6745]

incredible video!!!! can I ask you what bearing do you use to connect the pedal's bar to the gear mount? Thanks

[@erock.steady]

nicely done. i'm surprised you didn't run the toe-down brake. and bro - windowed? lol really? you must have your reasons for not going fullscreen but i was surprised lol.

[@jeffmorris1956]

I need wiring diagram for connecting the pots and switches to the Arduino Micro board.

[@mattivirta]

5volt plus pot to arduino 5volt, gnd to pot arduino gnd and center pot to data analog pin 0-5. simple.

[@wemmser84]

@@mattivirta and the buttons and Leds?

[@mattivirta]

@@wemmser84 leds. positive come arduino output pin, then negative add resistor normal 330 ohm, and then to negative. buttons, need little different, button pin go to two possiple way, resistor up or low you need looking many million arduino manual or yotube video basic connection arduino. bull-up or bull down button and resistor.how connect i not can tell you text all.

[@leo-jt6to]

ESP32 is able to do this .without usb esp32 can use Bluetooth way to send info to pc, and u can get a wireless York or throttle.

[@LowieDM]

You could have added potentiometers in the pedals to simulate actual breaks but this is a super cool project though

[@marcelotohme2488]

Great project!!! But, please, I have 2 douts: at 14:00 min you are talking about a 6mm aluminium hub attached to the shaft. Where can I find it? The second one is about the wiring diagram for connecting the pots and switches to the Arduino. Do you have it? Thank you.

[@GreekSIMRACING]

I also want the diagram but noneone said anything.

[@eddyoungster]

0:22 how many freaking apps does he have open?!?!?

[@CodyKennell]

Saw that

[@SaltyBob355]

I wonder if there are enough analog axis and buttons on a standard xbox controller to substitute as the microcontroller for console use?

[@capsilver85]

I was testing the regular potentiometers and I see it does not have enough precision, I got a 10 turns potentiometer and It is way better, now I have to build the rudder pedals and I'm trying to figure out how to convert the movement to a 10 turn, maybe I can use half the turns, but in that case I think I need a different gear ration.

[@patrickrobinson317]

Great tutorial. 😀 Thanks for making this !!!!

[@MrSomethingdark]

Thx for the sketches Sherminator

[@thomasmaier7053]

There is also a company doing magnetic force feedback... nobody has yet managed to reproduce it but that would be amazing for this yoke!

[@fabioricci-effeerreworld]

nice project at all!!!!! congratulations!!!!

[@musik12]

Oh, nice project, thanks for sharing. One question: are the keys connected to the digital pins (PWM)? I know this might be a silly question, but I'd better confirm it first, lol

[@acestu]

Hi Michael, I can't find a wiring diagram anywhere, I would like to make a board with jst connectors as you have, do you have a link for that ? Thanks

[@CodyKennell]

Basically trying to figure out the part with the electrical setup with the arduino board and would love links to stuff

[@GreekSIMRACING]

Ι have problem with roll on msfs2020. Although is set correctly on game when I roll to left or right it has dead zone and then it steering full,on xplane11 works fine

[@CodyKennell]

How did you wire the pentiometers to the micro board by plugging it in, and could you please send a link for where to get them

[@FajarMaulanaKarim]

Love the creations man!

[@arcadealchemist]

it would be nice to get some Home Brew flight sticks eventually. if i knew how to make what i wanted it would be cool

[@taftazani6400]

I'm trying to calculate the cost of buillding the plastic body if i use 3d printing service since i dont have a 3d printer. They usually charge per gram of material use. Could you help by informing the plastic body overall weight?

[@albertofanjulalonso6096]

Amazing! Wonder why control box is not uploaded to thingiverse, and not sure It all the arduino code is available. Just to show how cool this project is

[@dkgolfnut]

Really nice work!

[@luandantas5499]

Speak my friend Michael Rechtin, I can't find this product 6mm Hub on any other website, I'm from Brazil and it doesn't exist here, is there another model that I can replace and that works for your project?

[@yeetsarjn3293]

Maybe an upgrade from a rubber band to a spring could have better quality to it!but still a great video to enjoy 😉

[@fabricebougardier1250]

Hello I don't know much about electronics just that I manage to follow the assembly with a detailed plan the procedure I print all the parts are assembled except that for the wiring of potentiometers, switches and led to arduino the ca is complicated for the can of detail provided for a novice. I'm sorry to ask you but without it I couldn't go to the end of the realization of your great design. thank you

[@buncgaming6432]

Thats so cool!!!! Im gonna try and build that thanks for the inspiration!!!

[@mattivirta]

all encoder,buttons,leds need best way install whit arduino mega and mobiflight software to flight sim connection. need FSUIP too confic what pin uses.

[@propershroper]

This is great. Thanks for sharing your hard work.

[@3az3oz]

Thank you for making this. I finished printing all the parts and am in the process of putting it together, I found out that you are missing the Potentiometer holder for the flight yoke. I checked the fusion file and it's missing from there too. Thank you again for sharing this design with u.

[@michaelrechtin]

It was originally left out on accident. Check the files link again and the STL file should be there.

[@gerardogutierrez9903]

Can you make this force feed back/ commercial loading ?

[@testi2025]

Nice work! You might want to check the standard colours for your throttle quadrant.