So I bought this and have recently purchased the Wing Commander games, B-17 Flying Fortress, and IL 2. Any recommendations on joysticks? I'm looking for something that has a lot of bang for the buck and won't break the bank. Thanks!

Anti-recommendation: Speedlink Wasp². I was also looking for a decent cheap joystick for the older GOG sims so I got this one for 12€ like two weeks ago. It may not be the worst joystick ever but it's pretty bad. It has a few minor flaws but the real problem is that it has a huge deadzone which makes fine aiming basically impossible.

Thanks F4llout. I've found that the USB Xbox 360 controller works well for this game.

I use a Saitek x52. A little old but works really great, plenty of buttons, separate throttle control for the left hand.

x52 company website

For me the wing mans worked fine, but did not last long, as well my sidewinder 2 ff has proved itself worth every cent, because it last about 10x as long as those wing mans. Great quality.

But those are old, I heard a lot of good thinks about the "better" Saitek Joysticks, and a lot of bad things about their cheap ones.

Futhermore I would guess that Trustmasters are still around, and still build some of the finest joysticks you can wish for. And there is still that CH Flightstick Pro avaible for sale. They still make them, and still a create piece of hardware and CH should still build with high quality.

Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick is about 300€, pricey, but seems like worth its money.
CH Flightstick Pro has a more reasonable price of 90€. Precise and robust.
And than there is the already mentioned Saitek X52 Pro Flight Control System, around 150€

If those are to expensive for you, there are cheaper variations that may interest you, as well logitech has some joysticks still which should be ok, even when not as good as those mentioned above. Compared to a good joystick I would not call it "well", just barely working. ;-)
And yes, I have tried it, the analog sticks of a standard xbox 360 controller may not be as bad as its d-pad, but it is still bad ;-)
Though I had so far not the pleasure to test a razer 360 controller for example, maybe those are better.

I suggest buying a better joystick as it will last longer, gives more buttons and options, and overall has better control. A separate throttle control is really a huge bonus.

If you want to save some money you can always buy used. For example, I bought a perfectly working (in original box) Saitek x52 for $55. I bought one for my brother that didn't have the yaw working (but a quick internal cleaning fixed that immediately) for $20. The higher quality joysticks last a long time so it's a good investment. You don't have to invest a lot but I would always go with a higher quality used unit over one of the really cheap new ones. Just my personal preference though.

I myself am thinking about buying a Thrustmaster T.16000M.
I have a Logitech Force 3D Pro now but I'm really having trouble with it, I have to disassemble the thing every two days or so to clean to potentionmeters with alchohol to get smooth calibration.
I also still have a MS Sidewinder Precision 2 which doesn't have the dirty potmeter problem as it has light-spokewheel system like old mouse but when I plug it in it isn't detected by my computer.

So the T.16000M looks like a good candidate to me as it is not too expensive and is also a good choice if you are lefthanded, which is kind of rare.