If you want to use analog pedals with your USB stick...
I bought the same stick you have a while ago, and I since returned it. I found that, although the control seemed precise, the throw on the hat switch was so short that I could not use it effectively. Anway, if you like it, that's great.
[ASIDE: I now have a Saitek X36 HOTAS (hands-on throttle and stick) and am anxiously awaiting my pre-ordered TM Cougar (not at all cheap, but you get what you pay for, usually)! The Saitek rig is cheap (you can probably find one for not much more than you paid for your stick) and, in my opinion, VASTLY superior to your stick.]
When I had the Logitech stick, I used CH analog pedals with it by plugging them into an analog gameport. If you are using Win98SE, there are two ways to go about this; if you are using WinXP, I think that just one will work.
[ASIDE: I think that the CH analog pedals are better than the TM Elite analog pedals. Although they are not as "realistic" as the TM pedals, I have found that they afford much more precise control and, for my money, that is more important than "realism." You can get the CH pedals at
http://www.fscentral.com for $60. There are other more expensive options (as well as USB pedals) about which I know almost nothing.]
The cheapest route is to get a set of rudder pedals and install special drivers that will recognize and allow you to configure the rudders as a single-axis "joystick." I used Bob Church's drivers, which, if I recall, are available at
http://www.stickworks.com. Installing those drivers is fairly involved, so I recommend paying close attention to the instructions at the site and read.me files included with the drivers. When I last checked, Bob Church's drivers were not compatible with Windows 2000 or XP.
If you have Windows 2000 or XP or just don't want to mess around with special drivers, along with your rudder pedals, you will need a cheap (the cheapest $5 piece of junk you can find) analog joystick. Connect the joystick to the pedals and plug the combination into your analog joystick port. Configure the pair as a three-axis, 2- or 4-button joystick (make sure to check the "rudder" box).
Once you have calibrated the rudders or rudder/joystick combination in Windows 98/2000/XP, start up AH. Under the "Setup" menu, choose "Joystick." I don't remember exactly how it works, because I don't have the game in front of me right now. But, basically, AH lets you select an axis from among all joystick axes (including rudder axes) that Windows recognizes to control certain aircraft surfaces and other things. Thus, simply select the X and Y axes on your Logitech stick to control roll and pitch, respectively, and select the Z (?) axis of your other stick or stick/rudder combination to control yaw.
Hope this helps.
- JNOV
