Just so you know, CH also sells the parts for their sticks on the website. Fairly cheap. You can buy new hat switches, new buttons, new gimbals and pots and springs. Pretty much everything except the outside case can be replaced and made new.
As for the dual boot idea, it would work. The first link I posted was for the .exe that installs the FF drivers in Win98. Download that exe file and run it, it will install the FF software and all the drivers. If you run under Win98 to fly, your FF stick will work.
One other note you might be interested in (or not) if you look through the site. They are clearancing out all their "legacy" hardware. Meaning all the analog stuff they still have they are selling for dirt cheap. They have Fighterstick Pro joysticks for 19 bucks, and some older ones for as low as 12 dollars. I ordered one as a backup.

Of course, it cost me for the international shipping, but still cheap for a quality stick.