Evo7. I work with computers all day, so joysticks and computer games are something I had avoided for a while now. But I can really see the benefit of the flight simulator with regards to flight planning, cockpit management and navigation on route.
To make it as realistic as possible, a joystick is a must. So I asked a few questions to the 'joystick people'.
USB is important. This is the standard these days I believe, and perfomance is enhanced. (A guy at work told me this, if anyone can explain further, please do).
I also believe that feedback makes it more realistic. You want to be able to 'fight' the yoke.
Get a joystick with power control (throttle). The advice I got was to go for a control that sits flat and you increase power along the horizontal, not vertically. Vertical power switches tend to become lose and the power setting doesn't always stay fixed. (No screw to tighten as the norm). This sounded like good advice.
You also need to be able to 'turn your head' quickly. So I got the 360 degree view switcher on the joystick too. Your thumb then becomes your head, so to speak, you use your thumb to turn your head, useful for keeping an eye out for traffic, and looking for runways etc etc.
I used my switches on the joystick for flaps, elevator trim, and I have two more spare.
The joystick I got also has a 'twist' component, which is rudder. You are right about the cost of pedals, very prohibitive. After one flight with my joystick though, the simulation of twisting instead of kicking in rudder is OK. I think the fact that you have think about doing something to trigger rudder is enough, doesn't matter whether its feet, or a twist.
So, after all that, my joystick is a Logitec. The name of it, would you believe I can't remember, but I will post tonight from home, with more details. Cost was 130 AUD. You can get exactly the same without feedback for 80 AUD.
Not sure if these numbers mean much to my foreign friends, given the ridiculous exchange rates.
Hope this helps, please ask more questions and given my limited but growing experience, I will help.
PS How far through the PPL are you?
Captain Out
Noodle
[This message has been edited by Captain Noodle (edited 15 May 2001).]