thumb|right|Collection of control yokes at [[Boeing Future of Flight Museum: 747, 707, B-29, Trimotor. The former two yokes are W-shaped, while the latter two are circular.]]
A yoke, alternatively known as a control wheel or a control column, is a device used for piloting some fixed-wing aircraft.
The pilot uses the yoke to control the attitude<!-- Note: the correct term is "attitude", not "altitude", please don't change it --> of the plane, usually in both pitch and roll. Rotating the control wheel controls the ailerons and the roll axis. Fore and aft movement of the control column controls the elevator and the pitch axis. The Cessna 162 uses a similar device.
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File:ConcordeCockpitSinsheim.jpg|The cockpit of Concorde, which has an M-shaped yoke mounted on a control column
File:Cabine do avião R99.jpg|The cockpit of an Embraer ERJ with an M-shaped yoke
File:Pilotska kabina zrakoplova.JPG|"W"/"U" style yoke in a Cessna 152 light aircraft, mounted on a horizontal tube protruding from the instrumental panel
File:Li-2 HA-LIX Cockpit 01.jpg|Circular, steering-wheel type yoke in a 1940s Lisunov Li-2
File:SR22TN Perspective Cockpit.jpg|Cirrus SR22 panel showing both side yokes
File:Cessna 162 Skycatcher N5201K 0986 instrument panel.JPG|Cessna 162 Skycatcher instrument panel
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Advantages and disadvantages
Side-sticks and centre-sticks are better for making rapid control inputs and dealing with high g-forces, hence their use in military, sport, and aerobatic aircraft. However, yokes are less sensitive (i.e., more precise) due to a larger range of motion and provide more visual feedback to the pilot.
Most yokes are connected and will both move together, thus providing instant indication to the other pilot when one makes a control input. This is in contrast to some fly-by-wire control sticks that allow each pilot to send different, and sometimes greatly conflicting, inputs. Competing inputs are signaled on Airbus craft.
Yokes take up more room than side-sticks in the cockpit and may even obscure some instruments; by comparison, side-sticks have minimal cockpit intrusion, allowing the inclusion of retractable tray-tables and making it easier to enter/leave small cockpits.
A yoke, unlike a side-stick, may be used comfortably with either hand. This can be useful if one needs to write or manipulate other controls in the cockpit. This advantage is shared with the center-stick.
Alternative control systems
Yokes are not used on all aircraft. Airships use a ship's wheel, helicopters use a cyclic, and the majority of military fighter aircraft use a center or side-stick. Some light aircraft use a stick due to pilot preference. The latest Airbus family of passenger jets use a side-stick, similar to a joystick, to actuate control surfaces.
There are also computer input devices designed to simulate a yoke, intended for flight simulators.
See also
- Index of aviation articles
- Aircraft flight control system
- HOTAS, an acronym for hands on throttle-and-stick
- Rudder pedals