If you are serious about fine control in SC the flight model suits having 6 separate axis for control, this means that hotas while giving you many axis will not give you fine thruster control, only dual sticks will give you the fine control you need. It is then advised that you get a cheap set of pedals to control forward and back...
An alternate setup that can bring the best of both is left stick and mouse (with pedals), use the same control layout as with the sticks but the mouse will be your pitch and yaw . Setup will be, right stick = pitch and yaw (replacing mouse) and is responsible for aim Left stick is strafe left/right and up/down with roll on the twist, these are your translational movements, then pedals for forwards and back and are mostly for distance control.
If you are investing in a control setup consider the saying, buy cheap buy twice. If you are unsure if you want to then the T16000 is a good test stick but it is not durable in the long term and doesn't have nearly enough buttons to fully control everything without taking your hands off the sticks. It allegedly has a common fault of the twist axis breaking within 6 months as well.
The NXT Gladiators are a solid compromise on quality, buttons and price they will be long lasting and give you everything you need, if you are on a budget just get a left stick (and a cheap set of pedals first) then get a right stick when you can.
At the top end you have the Virpil Constellation Alphas which are very expensive but do have everything you need and more plus extensive customization ability.
Joystick comparison:
When it comes to pedals get a cheap set. You only need 1 axis and there are usually sets on ebay that you can customize to your needs.
Head Tracking is also a big game changing advantage for situational awareness in a dogfight, options there include track IR or Tobii eye tracker, there are some head tracking available using a webcam but they are less responsive
Control methods:
Joystick Reviews:
French comparison of Gladiator vs Virpil
HOSAM concept....would recommend pedals with it too (and probably don't get the omni throttle attachment)
Posted on behalf of Capt. Scat_Happens Fleet commander.
Avenger One's stick set-up and his reasons for it...