Desktop shotsSomewhat dated shots that I need to update, but they get the point across as far as my main flight controls go.
That, of course, being a Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar (with a Force-Controlled Cougar mod) with some Thrustmaster RCS pedals (with one of those CubPilot Hall sensor kits) slaved to it. You'd be hard-pressed to find controls better suited to Falcon 4.0, but the stick mod in question makes it undesirable for a lot of things.
That's the point where I break out a (not pictured) 2nd-gen/red Microsoft SideWinder Force-Feedback 2. I would've used a Logitech WingMan Strike Force 3D instead, but that stick had some horribly-engineered gimbals (the way the pots are mated to them makes X/Y-axis bleed a major problem), not to mention plenty of slop near the center due to a massive centering force deadzone that the SWFFB2 doesn't suffer from.
Also not pictured:
-two Logitech WingMan Interceptors (Very ergonomic, precise, and bristling with controls right on the stick, notably the three hat switches on the head, but the digital gameport interface (read: NOT compatible with cheap USB adapters made for analog gameport sticks), lack of rudder twist, and lack of proper driver support beyond Win98SE are issues that keep me from using them. I'm hoping someone will develop a special USB adapter for them like some chap named Grendel did for the SideWinder 3D Pro. Actually, he WAS working on that specific stick some years ago, but I have seen no fruits of that labor.)
-Saitek Cyborg 3D Gold USB (It was once gutted for a long-discontinued project. If I could just remember where all the wires went, I could probably rewire everything and get it working again. I still probably wouldn't use it much because the stick feels a bit weird around center.)
-CH Products Fighterstick + Pro Pedals USB (I no longer own these. They were precise and very programmable, but not very comfortable/ergonomic. The Fighterstick had the traditional CH feel-wide throw, light centering force. The Pro Pedals were a bit too closely spaced together for my tastes. Since Guillemot/Thrustmaster is closing in on the programmability gap with T.A.R.G.E.T. and I no longer have even my USB DT225 trackball, it's doubtful I'll go back.)
-Thrustmaster F-22 Pro (I no longer have it. It was a nice stick for the time, but being analog gameport-based, prone to jitter. Also, it feels much like a stock Cougar would if the Cougar's stick handle was plastic rather than zamac, due to a very similar stock gimbal design.)
-Suncom SFS Throttle (I no longer have it. Very comfortable and programmable on-the-fly, but some issues included one of the throttle arms having a bit of play with the slider pot arm when making fine adjustments, the hardware programming not holding down Ctrl, Alt, or Shift for things like deploying speedbrakes, and the lower two rocker switches being dedicated to switching programming slots.)
I'll have to try and pinch my pennies for the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, but the lack of T.A.R.G.E.T.-compatible rudder pedals that I could use to integrate them all into a single DirectInput ID for older games/sims is a bummer. Some people are working on projects to make rudder pedals out of a Thrustmaster T.16000-M stick's circuitry, which is also T.A.R.G.E.T.-compliant.
(Oh, and those car pedals in the second desktop shot, in front of my RCS? Those are pedals for my Microsoft SideWinder Force-Feedback Wheel, also red/2nd-gen and USB. It's meant to show that there's enough room down there to shove the RCS back and place some car pedals if needed.)