Congrats on getting the VKB Gladiator!
I think this is the best mid level stick available and would be a great upgrade for someone who wanted to move up from 3d pro and didn't want to get rudder pedals and throttle as well.
The quality is great. You may need to switch springs to lighter tension but that is easy to do. I switched down one level but am now thinking about going back to the default tension.
The stick is good right out of the box, but the best thing is that you can program it to get even more functionality and do some really cool things.
The worst thing is that the software that comes with it is complex and not well documented.
I was thinking about doing a tutorial video on how to use the software with some profiles for aces high included.
Let me know if that would be helpful for you after you get the stick.
Armed with your new equipment, you will be twice as deadly!