How do I set up a CH Products Flight Sim Yoke in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

To set up a CH Products Flight Sim Yoke in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 or 2020 on PC, connect it before launch, verify all five axes in Windows, create a yoke preset, bind pitch, roll and the three levers to analogue Axis commands, clear duplicates, then test direction and full travel.

The workflow below covers Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for Windows through Sim Update 5 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Their Controls pages differ, but the assignments are the same. A recognised CH yoke may open with an empty or unsuitable default profile, so manual binding is normal.

Does the CH Products Flight Sim Yoke work with Flight Simulator 2024?

Yes, the USB CH Products Flight Sim Yoke works as a standard Windows game controller in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PC and does not normally need a dedicated MSFS driver.

This advice is for the USB model. Older gameport CH hardware is not directly equivalent and requires hardware that converts it into a Windows-compatible game controller.

Although MSFS 2024 is also available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, this setup is PC-only. The standard CH yoke is a Windows USB peripheral, not an Xbox or PlayStation controller, and should not be assumed to work through either console's Controls screen.

How to set up the CH Flight Sim Yoke step by step

The reliable order is to prove that Windows receives clean input, assign the controls in MSFS and only then adjust sensitivity.

1. Connect the yoke before starting MSFS. Use a direct USB port for the first setup rather than an unpowered hub. Windows should recognise the yoke automatically as a game controller.
2. Test the yoke in Windows. Press the Windows and R keys, enter joy.cpl, select the CH device and open its properties. Move the yoke fully left, right, forward and back, then move the black, blue and red levers through their complete ranges. All five axes should move independently. If the device is missing, follow our Windows 11 CH controller detection and axis checks before changing anything in the simulator.
3. Calibrate only when the Windows test is wrong. Calibration is appropriate when the yoke does not centre, an axis cannot reach both endpoints or a lever reports only part of its travel. Our CH USB yoke calibration fixes for jitter and incorrect travel cover those faults without hiding them behind large dead zones.
4. Select the CH device in MSFS. In MSFS 2020, open Options and then Controls Options. In MSFS 2024, open Settings and then Controls. Select the CH yoke itself rather than the keyboard, mouse, gamepad or pedals.
5. Create a custom control profile. Duplicate a usable preset or create a new one and give it a clear name. In MSFS 2024, also confirm that the intended device and aircraft profile are active; changing aircraft can expose a different profile from the one just edited.
6. Bind the analogue axes. Change the control filter from Assigned to All, or use the equivalent view that includes unassigned commands. Select the appropriate Axis command, start input scanning and move only the intended control. A noisy lever can be captured accidentally if several controls are moved together.
7. Clear conflicts and test the aircraft. Filter the CH yoke by assigned controls, then inspect any connected gamepad, joystick, throttle or virtual controller for duplicate pitch, roll and throttle axes. Save the profile, disengage the autopilot and test in a simple piston aircraft. Pulling the yoke must command nose-up elevator; turning it right must command right roll.

Which MSFS controls should the CH yoke use?

The yoke and engine levers should use analogue Axis assignments, not the left, right, increase or decrease commands intended for keys and buttons.

A mistake we see constantly is assigning yoke movement to Aileron Left, Aileron Right, Elevator Up or Elevator Down. Those are digital commands: even a small movement can produce a full-rate response. Remove them and use the corresponding Axis command.

Because the CH yoke has one lever for each engine function, use the all-engines throttle, propeller and mixture assignments. Individual commands such as Throttle 1 Axis are for hardware with separate levers or deliberately split engine control.

If an optional 0–100% throttle-axis command is listed, it is often the simplest choice for the CH lever because the hardware has no reverse-thrust detent. Aircraft with specialised throttle gates or reverse ranges may need their own profile.

Test the blue and red levers in a piston aircraft equipped with a constant-speed propeller and manual mixture. A fixed-pitch aircraft will not respond to the propeller lever, while turbine, FADEC or automated aircraft may ignore the mixture lever even when its binding is correct.

Can I use the CH yoke without rudder pedals?

The CH Flight Sim Yoke has no proportional rudder axis or toe brakes, so pedals are the proper solution for yaw control, crosswind corrections and differential braking.

Keyboard commands, yoke buttons or auto-rudder assistance can serve as a temporary substitute, but they do not provide the same proportional control. Never assign the yoke's left-right axis to both ailerons and rudder; that couples every roll input to yaw and makes coordinated flight harder.

How should CH yoke sensitivity and dead zones be set?

Start with a straight response curve, default reactivity, full endpoint travel and no dead zone unless the Windows and cockpit indicators move while the yoke is untouched.

• Dead zone: Increase it by the smallest available steps until unwanted centre movement stops. A large dead zone removes the fine pitch and roll control a yoke is meant to provide.
• Sensitivity: Keep the initial curve close to linear. If pitch is too sharp near the centre, reduce centre sensitivity modestly and retest the same aircraft rather than making a large change.
• Extremity dead zone: Leave it at its default initially. Adjust it only after Windows calibration if MSFS still cannot reach full control output at the physical endpoint.
• Reactivity: Keep it at the default or immediate-response setting while diagnosing the yoke. Lower reactivity adds input lag; it does not repair electrical noise or poor centring.
• Reverse axis: Toggle this separately for any axis that moves backwards. Do not reverse one control by replacing its analogue binding with opposite digital commands.

Our MSFS sensitivity guide to dead zones, response curves and reactivity explains how each setting changes the control output after the axes are working correctly.

Why is the CH yoke not detected or behaving correctly?

Most CH yoke problems come from Windows detection, an empty profile, reversed axes, duplicate bindings or legacy software creating a second virtual controller.

• The yoke is missing from Windows and MSFS: Reconnect it to a direct USB port and check joy.cpl again. If Windows cannot see the device or its axes, simulator assignments cannot fix it.
• Windows sees it but MSFS does not: Close MSFS, connect the yoke and restart the simulator. Confirm that the CH device is selected and that a control filter is not hiding unassigned commands.
• The device is listed but has no bindings: This is not necessarily a fault. Create a custom profile and assign the axes manually rather than choosing a preset for another yoke.
• The controls jump immediately to full deflection: Remove digital aileron or elevator commands and bind Ailerons Axis and Elevator Axis instead.
• An axis moves in the wrong direction: Toggle Reverse Axis for that assignment and verify it in the cockpit. The settings graph can be less intuitive than watching the aircraft's actual controls.
• The aircraft twitches or fights the yoke: Search every connected device for duplicate axes. Pay particular attention to gamepads and virtual controllers, which may retain automatic pitch, roll or throttle assignments.
• The centre or endpoints are wrong: Return to joy.cpl. Correct Windows calibration before adding a large dead zone, sensitivity curve or extremity adjustment in MSFS.
• A lever works in the Controls screen but not the aircraft: Test an aircraft that actually models that control, then check whether an all-engines or engine-specific command was assigned. Aircraft automation can also override manual propeller or mixture control.
• The setup works in one aircraft but not another: Confirm that the intended CH profile is active. MSFS 2024 can apply different control-profile contexts, while complex aircraft may require a separate throttle configuration.

Do I need CH Control Manager for Microsoft Flight Simulator?

No. The USB CH Products Flight Sim Yoke normally works through Windows' standard game-controller support and can be bound directly in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 or 2020.

CH Control Manager is legacy mapping software intended for custom or combined virtual devices. Use it only when a specific configuration requires one. If it exposes both a physical CH yoke and a virtual controller, bind only one of them in MSFS; assigning both causes doubled movement, drift and controls that appear to override each other.