I was also leaning towards a joystick. However over the years i no longer have one. So i recently purchased he Thrustmaster T160000M to test out the joystick features at alpha. If it works well I'll upgrade to something better if necessary. That is if its superior to the other options.

Link to joystick main webpage: Roughly $45.00 off amazon when i bought it.
http://www.thrustmaster.com/en_UK/products/t16000m


[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

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