I'm looking to get a decent joystick to play some flight games, namely Freespace 2, etc. I've done a little looking and found a few that fit my criteria (good reviews, inexpensive). I don't have the intention of playing simulators, just some arcade-style flight games, so I don't think I need features like throttle controls. But you guys may convince me otherwise.

The ones I've researched and am interested in are:
Logitech Attack 3
Logitech Extreme 3D Pro
Thrustmaster T-Flight Stick X Flight Stick

What types of joysticks do you guys use and would recommend? Thanks!

I have an Attack 3, and it requires calibration every now and then, and doesn't have a HOTAS setup, but for the $30 I got it for, I can't ask for much more.

Sounds like a pretty good joystick from what I've read from reviews and the description, and it is less than $20 on Amazon.

It serves me well, and the price more than makes up for the lack of buttons. :)

I've been meaning to get the Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X. It's affordable but looks really sweet. Doesn't have force feedback though, I believe.

I don't know if TM's quality has dropped, but I liked their joysticks back when I was into flight and space sims.

I've got a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, quite a few people on the forum use it too: cheap with good functionality. I like it a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Extreme-Joystick-Silver-Black/dp/B00009OY9U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344922864&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+extreme+3d+pro

That actually looks like a nice step up from the Logitech Attack 3. Next time I have cash, I might grab that.

Make sure you get a Y Axis and programmable buttons, sturdy stuff that doesn't break is a plus.

No better way to start than Extreme 3D Pro. You can get something fancier down the line if you decide you want to, but I think you'll find this one more than sufficient for years to come.

Also it is the same joysticks they use in the Raptors in Battlestar Galactica :D

Get one with a twisting stick (one additional analog axis), to do those fancy rolls with it. I'm unsure if those sticks you listed have such.

One of these days I need to check how feasible it is to use gamepad for those older space combat simulators. In theory a gamepad with two analog sticks sounds pretty much perfect for such games (not to mention the Descent games!), but you'd have to map all the important keys to gamepad buttons, I think. That could be bothersome.

That reminds me: Sinistar Unleashed, an old PC-remake of an even older arcade game, has probably the most complicated controls I've seen in any, at least non-flight simulator, game. It makes Descent 2 controls seem basic. Sinistar Unleashed definitely benefits from two analog sticks on a modern gamepad, heck sometimes I feel it would actually need even a third one (your spaceship can fly, turn, strafe to all directions, roll, you need to control the throttle all the time... more complicated than even Descent games for sure).

Which makes it all more surprising considering it was made at a time when there were no PS2 or XBox360 style gamepads available for PC. How did they think people would play the game on a PC, with one analog flightstick? A gamepad works great with it.

A gamepad with two analog sticks works very well for Descent. I use the right stick for aiming and the left stick + d-pad for movement. There are enough buttons for the other important functions.

It doesn't work for Freespace, because Freespace needs to many buttons and it is very uncomfortable to use a gamepad with only one hand, because you have to have the other on the keyboard a lot of times.