Well i can't really afford 2 $90 CH pieces, so i guess i'll go with the Thrustmaster 2 piece set http://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-T-Flight-Hotas-Flight-Playstation-3/dp/B001CXYMFS/ref=pd_cp_e_0.

I went through buying a new joystick roughly a year ago for Cliffs of Dover flight sim.

I searched and posted on my flight sim forums for advice on a good joystick.

I ended up going with the CH fighterstick. I remember having an oooooooold CH force feedback joystick that lasted me forever.

CH is known for being extremely well made and very durable, with joysticks that are precise.

A lot of joysticks in the cheapo side (IE Saitek) you'll find to be unprecise, wear out fast, etc.

You don't "need" a throttle per se if you can use your keyboard as well.

I basically use my keyboard for other flight controls I need (throttle, etc) with my left hand while I use my right hand for the joystick controls. It's not that hard.

For a cheapo joystick, you might want to consider Thrustmaster T.16000M for the hall effect sensors. The aesthetics of it also fit well with space flight sims as a bonus.

It has been a long time since I had CH Joystick but can't you use that wheel to the left of the stick as a throttle if necessary? It may be hardly an ideal solution for some games, but it's something...

The CH FighterStick does have a throttle wheel (in other words, it's a 3 axis joystick). So I'm not sure what the controversy is. It only lacks the 4th axis, but otherwise it seems like an excellent joystick for approx $100.

If you want something a bit more fully featured, the Saitek X52 also costs around $100. The only reason I avoided the X52 and went for T.16000M instead was because I didn't have enough space on my desk for a HOTAS setup.

I can't find a throttle to go with the T1600M. You're talking about this right? http://www.amazon.com/Hercules-2960706-Thrustmaster-T-16000M-Flight/dp/B001S0RTU0

Yep, this one I have. Throttle is this silver button in the middle of the base

Yeah, T.16000M has a built-in throttle lever. It's probably the best low-end joystick out there (I payed $33 CAD for mine).

The problem is no dust cover at the base of the joystick. And the throttle does feel a bit cheap. But for the price I guess you can't expect too much. I bought mine just to play Freespace and Independence War.

mmhm

The reason my X52 collects dust most of the time is that I can't bring myself to reconfigure my settings just for Saitek to yet again change the file format while NOT providing a conversion tool. You would think that joystick manufacturers would make sure that their customers could even buy a new model from them and import their old settings for it with minimal effort, I guess some higher up in Saitek likes more about setting functions to each button by hand than actually playing the games with the controllers?

Just in case I decide to buy a new flightstick at some point: does that have a rotating stick?

It doesn't rotate 360 deg but twists left&right.

So like the MS Sidewinder Precision Pro joysticks and such? Yeah that's what I meant. I'd rather not buy a non-twisting (rotating?) stick, I feel it really is useful at least for space combat sims.

Precisely - ca 30 deg each side. Seriously - I hate this feature - I prefer to look straight ahead in the direction I fly and turn with the entire ship. T16000M is VERY sensitive – you have to have really steady hand to keep stick centered when flying&turning. But I guess it is a matter of practice.