So I was digging through my spare room and found my old Logitech Force Feedback WingMan Force 3D joystick. Now the last time I played with it it had a nasty issue of turning my plane right when I didn't want it to. Not sure what was up with that.

But my question is, I'm thinking about getting Freespace 2 but if my joystick still doesn't work, can I play it with mouse and keyboard and still get enjoyment out of it?

Also if you know what might be wrong with my joystick I'd love help with that to haha.

Thanks.

Personally I prefer a joystick for this game though a mouse works just as good.
It sounds like the pots are dirty or worn, you can check in the Windows gamecontoller if it still has smooth calibration.