This page is a list of products I use and would recommend. Where possible I’ve included affiliate links so if you follow them I might get a bit towards my next gift certificate, but don’t follow them if you don’t want to 😀
Joystick : Thrustmaster Hotas X / Thrustmaster Hotas One
These two joysticks are very similar, the X is mostly unavailable now, and is replaced by the One, which is Windows and XBox compatible.
It’s a pretty pricy item but makes a massive difference. Instead of hunting round a keyboard for all kinds of buttons to move left and right, control speed, you’ve got it all there on the left hand throttle, with extra buttons on the for boosts and selects. The stick itself is three axis, so as well as the pitch and roll, you also can twist the stick too for yaw. The little POV hat on the joystick is great too – in Elite I use it for the default which is for power controls.
I customised this by making and adding my own button box to go between the joystick and throttle.
Professional Button Box
This is a great quality item! Connects via USB and is automatically recognised by windows as a game controller. This shows up in the list as an Arduino box.
Really good quality buttons (including 2 ‘missile’ cover switches). 18 buttons in total. A bit more pricey at around £50. Various options for more buttons, colours, etc.
https://bbjsimracing.com/pc-range
My unit with temporary labels as I figure out what I want to map onto each button.
