Posted December 31, 1969 by Scott Parrino

Control the rudder on your plane the real way.

I think it goes without saying that a lot of readers here know that I?m an avid pilot of the virtual skies. I enjoy getting into a virtual cockpit, starting up a healthy engine, lowering flaps, and pushing the throttle forward to get the plane going. Most pilots know now by this point in the departure, your plane?s torque combined with the wind can push a plane around on the airstrip. To compensate this, rudder is used to keep the plane straight on its takeoff. The traditional way of using rudder is a set of rudder pedals at your feet. You push on the left pedal; your rudder yaws left, and so on. For the PC pilots who want this sensation, control, and immersion, CH Products has a high-quality set of rudder pedals famously known as the CH Pro Pedals.

Installing the Pro Pedals was a snap. Install the software that comes with the pedals, plug them in, and then find a nice spot for them so that you?re comfortable. Literally, no desk space is used which leaves you free to use that space for a joystick and throttle.

When you look at the Pro Pedals, one aspect stands out: functionality. The pedals are not flashy, wildly colored (they?re just gray and black), or draw a whole lot of attention to them. But that isn?t what the main idea for the Pro Pedals is. The Pro Pedals are meant to be used by your feet, tucked under your desk or if you?re talented enough, your simulated cockpit. The size of the pedals is perfect for my feet, which come in at a size 11 shoes. The pedals are also comfortable enough to be played without shoes if you are obliged to operate them as such.

The Pro Pedals don?t just handle rudder movement, but the full toe braking system as well. While on the ground, it is necessary to maneuver your plane through the flight line or to avoid debris during an aerial attack (IE, bombs, blown up planes). With the toe brakes you can easily apply pressure to whichever wheel brake you want. This is something that is nearly impossible to do with a joystick as sometimes you need to make gentle braking turns on the field rather than full pressure, which is what most keyboards, will do. Not only does this add more functionality to the pedals, but also it increases the amount of immersion.

The Pro Pedals themselves are not that heavy, but not light either. This is a perfect blend of weight as you can easily move them about if you have adjusted yourself but won?t shift if you?re making wild maneuvers with your feet operating the pedals rapidly. This is also where the durability of the Pro Pedals shows. I consider myself a wild pilot when it comes to maneuvers, especially ones made in combat. The Pro Pedals never suffered a malfunction or a physical failure with the amount of pressure and use I placed on them. Not that I was trying to do so, but after a flight I?ve realized that I must have put some solid action on the pedals.

The Pro Pedals aren?t just to be used for flight. The set comes with a pair of chocks, which stop the sliding movement, and allows you to use the toe brakes as pedals on a car. While not perfectly shaped like real car pedals, the gesture to include the car racing function to the pedals is a welcome one for gamers who dabble in both simulations and don?t want to switch out pedals.

The price of the Pro Pedals comes in at $150, which is pretty steep for just one hardware unit. The Pro Pedals are also usually teamed up with the rest of the ?CH Setup? of the Pro Throttle and various CH joysticks. Then again, serious flight simulation pilots insist on using the best, and CH?s Pro Pedals definitely earn the Pro in their name.