Real 737 yokes

[NAX228]

Hi folks
I got a set of very nice looking real yokes on hand, but wonder if it is really really hard to adapt these to flightsimming.
These yokes are on columns and have the original weiring still attached and coming out in one cable at the bottom of the column.
Does anyone know where I can find help to see how I can adapt these yokes to FS?

[Bob Reed]

Do a search here... Jackpilot did a real nice job building a real yoke with a cut column. And I think there are a couple other posts about it as well.

[Maurice]

I too am working on adapting real yokes/columns for my sim as a linked set. I have already mounted the columns and I'm now working on the yoke linkage (assuming you are also planning to link the columns & yokes).

The main difficulty I had was in finding steel tubing to lenghten the cut colums and inner yoke tubes. I finally found a suitable tubing for the inside tubing but I could only find tubing for the large column extension that was slightly undersized inside the tube and I had to do a lot of painful grinding to make it fit over the existing column tubing. It would have been a lot easier to get it machined down to size but I'm stubborn  .

I used steel rather than aluminum because I have been welding many parts to it and welding aluminum is not in my comfort zone. Anyway, in a few days hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of my progress.

Bottom line, the linkage is a lenghty process but not that difficult if you have the right tools; the real challenge will be to have the yokes centered and with the right tension when you turn them...same for elevator but I haven't started working on that  yet as I do not yet have the gas springs I want to use for that.

Maurice

[NAX228]

Thanks.
Was it your ebay auction i just missed last week Maurice? I have in any case edited my ebay profile so I have both american and canadian address as well as my norwegian now.

The collumns i have on hand is not cut and maybe that will make the linking easier? I wonder where the yokes sideways movement is coming out of the column. Is it the cross beam it self that actually roll? or is it a rod inside?
When I asked the seller about this, he wrote: "the internal column moves a tab at the bottom visible in the picture.". Is that the black thingy?

Se the pics:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e55/gosttveit/col1.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e55/gosttveit/col1detail.jpg

Crossbeam is also available for another 600$, but it seems so frekin' big.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e55/gosttveit/xbeam.jpg

[Maurice]

Yes, I guess it was my e-bay auction you just missed. But I see that was a good thing since you will not need those items anymore now that you have real yokes.

Anyway, my yokes were cut just above all the linkages so not too familiar with real assemblies. All I can tell you is that the inner tube rotates when you turn the yoke and I guess that is the black 'thingy' you see at the end.

You should have no problem finding help with this since many people have done it already and there is a website with lots of pictures you may want to look at.
http://www.sim-737ng.com/yoke/yoke.htm . I'm sure there are others as well and somebody else will likely point you to them

Good luck,

Maurice

[N737AG]

NAX228 :

You have the priviledge of having the yokes and columns complete ..... don't cut away anything - you even seem to have the tube that connects the 2 yokes.

If you rotate the yokes to the left and right, you will see that the black part on the bottom (the slider) also rotates. This slider goes into it's counter-slider which is "U" shaped and which is attached to a roll from which pulley cables go to the roll of the other yoke. This way both yokes are linked and absorb the elevator movement of the columns.

Please send me your email address and when I get home tonight I will get you some pictures of these parts so you have an idea.

Axel