I have an old Thrustmaster Pro Flight System Joystick bought in the mid 90's. Needs mods to repair the grip but pointless since the game port is obsolete; can no longer use it. Used to love WWII sims and mastering deflection shooting.

Although the HOTAS WARTHOG looks tempting I don't think I'm in the market for one. Joystick and throttle control without rudder pedals does not make for a realistic experience.

You can get good experience even with a cheap one. Many years ago, I bought a cheap RM20 PC Fair Joystick with 1 week warranty but it broke after 2 months (weekend use only). It had a good dead center after calibration and I had a blast playing European Air War. My main priority for getting one again is reliability. Nothing wrong with the use of plastic but the design must be good enough to withstand normal use.

I'm in no hurry to get one. Give me an user serviceable, all metal joystick, throttle and rudder pedals with hall effect sensors, a high build quality that lasts a lifetime and I'll be in queue to get one.

There's a lot of good games out there that does not need a joystick. Keyboard and mice will do for now...

You should aim higher. Get a rudder pedal from dhs-electronic instead.

dhs-electronic

Their rudder pedals are made from metal and uses hall effect sensors. The F-16 replica looks nice. Would love to get the Warthog but without a matching rudder set I'd rather wait for one.

For me, difficult to pilot a simulated Me109 without one since it tends to skid during turns making deflection shooting frustrating. Boom and zoom tactics with Me262 is OK though.