HoneyComb Alpha Yoke

622: MSFS Control Mappings

| Tom Tsui

At the moment, only a few accessories are instantly recognized by the new Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS).  The Honeycomb Alpha Yoke is one of them, which I used as a reference to set up my VRInsight Flight Master Yoke and other flightsim gears on my second computer.

It’s funny to look at the white buttons and the red buttons on the Yoke panel as they are wrongly placed carelessly.  The two red buttons for Batteries should be on the left and the two white buttons for Avionics should be on the right.   Wonder why no one from the Asobo team nor the Honeycomb team spotted the mistake and have it corrected in the last update.

Anyway, followings are the default button mappings on the Alpha Yoke: Continue reading →

580: My Cockpit Rev #14 – Yoke Position Mod

| Tom Tsui

After the FIP Adaptation mod yesterday, I found the protruding placement of the Alpha Yoke particularly eyesoring, since it is hard to cope with the other Saitek / Logitch panels as reported in my review for the yoke.

Of course, to those Alpha Yoke owners who don’t have any Logitech panel, it is not a problem at all.   But it is to me.   Here’s how how I got ride of this eyesore earlier this morning.  And it was pretty easy. Continue reading →

579: My Cockpit Rev #13 – FIP Adaptation Mod

| Tom Tsui

As stated in the Alpha Yoke review earlier, the “extended” FIP adaptation approach makes it even harder for users to access switches on the face-plate.

Here’s my correctional modification so as to place the FIP stack backward a bit behind the bracket-mount of the Alpha yoke.  Continue reading →

577: What I Dislike in HoneyComb Alpha Yoke Part 3

| Tom Tsui

…continued from Part 2

FIP Adaptation

If my memory is correct, there were mentionings in Honeycomb’s earliest news that the designer(s) of the Alpha yoke had Saitek backgrounds.  Probably he is (or they are).  Because not only the yoke has a shadow of Saitek counterparts but it also comes with a bracket mount to accommodate various Saitek or Logitech Pro Flight Panels.  This is not found on other brands.

No matter where the designer is from, as an owner of many Saitek/Logitech flightsim gears, the “adaptability” is a sure winner.  However, I wish the adaptation could be done with more thoughts. Continue reading →

576: What I Dislike in HoneyComb Alpha Yoke Part 2

| Tom Tsui

…continued from Part 1

Switches on the Body

I must say that integrating battery, avionics, lights and magneto switches to the yoke is a brilliant user-friendly features.   However, I am a little disappointed because the switches on it are only basics and are not as feature-rich as those on my VRInsight Flight Master Yoke II.

Moreover, the magneto switches on the Alpha yoke are moved to the right, which is a bit odd to my eyes. Continue reading →

575: What I Dislike in HoneyComb Alpha Yoke Part 1

| Tom Tsui

The HoneyComb Alpha Yoke, I believe, is one of the hottest flightsim gears these days.  I got mine in February and it is the sixth yoke I got — from the very first Saitek Yoke (2007), to the CH Eclipse Yoke (2011), Saitek Cessna Yoke (2012), VRInsight Flight Master Yoke II (2014), and the last VirtualFly Yoko Yoke (2018).  It’s no surprise that none of them is perfect, but surely each one has something good to praise.

You may have seen other reviews about the good and bad of the HoneyComb Alpha Yoke.  By no means to lower the product, followings are just the things I dislike from a user’s standpoint — both objectively and subjectively. Continue reading →