I'd actually be interested in hearing opinions on this, too. It seems the glory days of flight sims are long passed and we're left with a less than awesome selection of flight sticks.
Saitek X-52 Pro. I've been thinking about buying joystick too, since my friends are trying to get me into Flight Simulator and this is the one I'm most tempted to buy.
The Saitek X-45 and X-52 are popular budget choices, though I don't have much experience with either. I personally use a Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar, and enjoy it quite a bit. It's rather ergonomic, quite programmable, and has many third-party mods to further enhance its capabilities. You might also enjoy the cold metal feel (yes, the stick and throttle are mostly-but not totally-made of metal). However, it costs a bit under 200 US$ new for a stock one, and you'll undoubtedly be going over that after buying some rudder pedals. (The stick does not twist, and the throttle does not have a rudder rocker as it's mostly true to the F-16 design.) The mods also do not come cheap, as they're usually more expensive than a whole new Cougar would be! Also of note is that a stock Cougar's stick has a lot of tension, ESPECIALLY in the diagonals-you may not like those so-called "transition flats". Many of the mods are designed to change the way the stick feels, since they usually replace the stick's gimbals entirely. There's also the CH Products lineup. Reliable, precise, and hands-down the most programmable controllers on the market. However, I don't find CH equipment to be very ergonomic, as the Fighterstick kind of dug into my palm and the Pro Pedals were spaced too closely together for my liking. Also, whereas the Cougar only uses a single USB port (you plug the throttle and gameport rudder pedals into the stick, and then the stick has a single USB wire), CH stuff takes up a USB port for each item. One for the stick, one for the throttle, one for the pedals-you get the idea. Finally, while it's not a stick, throttle, or set of rudder pedals, I've found the TrackIR to be a godsend for combat flight sims. It's much easier to look around with your head to track your targets than fiddling around with a hat switch, and you can then use that hat switch for other things. They cost 120 US$ new, though, so you'll probably want to invest in flight controls first and save up for the TrackIR later.
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