Mach5/15, you've chosen a great time to join Aces High, a new version is due out soon, in fact it's in beta and you can try it out yourself. There are a many here who are willing to help you, and trainers available to actually teach you in air. The communication system in game is 2nd to none, both voiced and by type/channel, you'll find it easy to converse with instructors. Or, you can just figure it out yourself mostly, as you have previous online sim experience, you'll likely do fine, and any questions you can either ask here, search them yourself, or ask a trainer, or anyone else for that matter.
Sounds like you're really interested in how the joystick functions in game, and that's one area where Aces High truly excels and is superior to many other sims out there. The ability to fine tune your stick, profiles, curve axis, is all pretty straightforward yet powerful, and again, many here will be willing to help you to get it set just where you want it. It's a very popular and interesting topic here in the forums, joystick/hardware and game interface. You'll fit right in.
Things are going to get really busy and interesting here shortly with the game being on the cusp of a large new update. No better time to come over, and tell your friends and squadmates in other games about it. I've never seen a squad come over from another game and then want to go back, which speaks volumes IMO about how good this product is.