My Thrustmaster T1600 joystick has developed a problem with the twist / rudder control in which random inputs will be registered causing the aircraft to veer off often to the right!
Apparently it is a common problem with this model of joystick. It can be fixed by replacing the sensor but my enthusiasm for this is minimal.
Therefore I looking around for a new controller to use with Flight Sim and also Elite Dangerous. Honestly I’m not interested in a yoke/pedal set as that has no application in Elite.
My previous joystick ( Microsoft Sidewinder) lasted fifteen years whereas the T1600 is only eighteen month old with around 600hrs on it. Pretty dissapointed it has begun to fail but there you go.
I have a budget of £250 (max) but anything left over from this will go on other PC related goodies!
If you want a z axis (rotate for yaw movement), then the best I could find was a Virpil. I bought the VPC constellation alpha with a warbrd base unit. I really love it. It came in at £317.56 with £74 delivary + VAT costs. The stick wasn’t working at first. I think I had outdated software. Their support was exceptionally good. I know this is a £100 more than you want, but treat it as an investment to save you having to sort out cheaper ones.
I tried the Thrustmast warthog. It did not feel anywhere near as good and also did not have the Z axis control.
The only other alternative I could find were the Logitech under the Saitek brand. The reviews I saw on this came in at 50/50 with people ardently in both camps as both a fine stick and also prone to breaking early.
That is because you are paying for much better quality and customisation than you get with a €100 stick. The VKB version of the stick I bought is a lot more expensive again with the Virpil option I posted by about €100. The gun fighter is a nice stick though. I would have bought one of those. The problem was availability or rather lack of.