Any recommendations? thanks

Saitek Aviator, Saitek Cyborg. Basicly anything with 'Saitek' name ;-)

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro is what I use, never had a problem with it and it was about $30.

I don't own one (yet) but the Thrustmaster T Flight Stick X-PC is highly rated by customers and professional review sites alike. It's also pretty damn cheap.

If you happen to have a 360 or PS3, they each have their own variants of the Saitek Aviator (must get the one for that console). Not a great stick, but it's ok. Mainly, the benefit is that it also works on pc, so you could have a stick for console and pc in one.

Logitech Attack 3. it's cheaper than Extreme 3D Pro while still good and reliable to use.

I just bought Logitech Attack 3 for this and couple of other games. Works like a charm, yet quite cheap (price was only 24 euros while next model is over 40 eur).
Easy to set custom buttons and macros for any games with Logitech's software (or ingame, if preferred).