Stick for me!

Both.

Why use anything but a stick?

Except I've never flown one in real life, only yokes for me there, but I'm pretty sure I would like a stick better.

Schtick.

The strange thing about this is that only heavy multi-engined aircraft used to be fitted with a yoke. Since the introduction of fly-by-wire with sidestick controls it now seems to be back to front.

Some of the earliest aircraft had a control wheel to control either the wing warping or rudder. I must look out some of my photos of the Edwardians at Old Warden some time. I think this varied a lot before the conventional joystick & rudder pedals were adopted by most designers. Although other methods have been tried over the years the conventional method became the most popular & is still in use today. Until the 1960s most single-engined aircraft had a joystick & the yoke (or spectacle as it was called in the UK) was used for heavier types. I remember when I first saw a yoke on a light aircraft. This was in the early 1960s when one of the new Cessnas with a nosewheel landed at Shoreham. I also remember the advertising campaign that went with it. Flying made easy - Just like driving a car - Land it by driving onto the runway - or words to that effect. Of course we all thought that this was just another fad that wouldn't last. How wrong we were.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned earlier, most of the heavier types have gone back to the joystick or sidestick. It's a funny old world. Things keep going around in circles.

...stick...

...also useful for locating underground water... ...
...(and beating unruly students)...

Paul...a stickler for all things practical... ...!

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Brings tears to my eyes, Doug...!

Visions of young ladies in Summer dresses with a Tiger Moth stick between their legs....

Similar to young ladies in Summer dresses with a well polished Cello between their legs...

LOL...!

Paul...my dins is burning while I am concentrating on my thoughts......!

LOL... ...!

Keyboard in real life, sure!

Well, this is the Real Aviation forum.

I haven't flown many aircraft with a yoke but what I dislike about them is the fact that they have two separate fulcrum points rather than the single universal hinge point of the typical joystick. (The WWII standard RAF joysticks as used on aircraft like the Spitfire were an exception & probably introduced due to lack of space in a confined fighter cockpit.) On most light aircraft the yoke is mounted on the panel requiring a sliding 'in & out' motion to control pitch & a rotary action for roll. I suppose this becomes perfectly natural after a while depending on what you're used to. Most students now would probably prefer a yoke as these are fitted to the elementary trainers used by most flying clubs & flight schools throughout the world. One benefit is that the yoke can easily be used with either hand which is especially useful on dual-controlled types with side-by-side seating & a single set of engine controls in the centre.

I'm still thinking of those young ladies in their summer dresses getting into the front seats of our Tiger Moths. At the appropriate point in the proceedings their boyfriend in the rear cockpit* would decide to check his controls. Up elevator, ooops sorry love - accompanied by lots of blushes, squeals & giggles & young Hagar's eyes popping out on stalks.  Great fun & fond memories of happy days. You can't do that with a yoke.

*PS. One of those pilots is now in his late 70s & I still see him occasionally. He married one of those pretty young girls in the summer dresses he used to take for pleasure flights & still thinks the world of her. I don't think she would fall for that trick now or wear a summer dress when she goes for a flight.

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Well, most high speed military jets have a joystick or a sidestick nowadays. Modern jet airliners use a sidestick which is very similar to a gaming joystick.

A320 sidestick. Note the captain's stick is left-handed.


A340-200 cockpit


F-16

I'm a yoke-man myself. But I've only flown C-172s, so I know nothing about joysticks.

A lot of kit-planes have sticks too. I would guess that they are easier to install.