[{HVY-E}Jinxx]

Here is the link to the article I wrote for the different HOTAS systems.
Hope it helps you out some with your decision.

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=32483&p=356902&hilit=Cougar#p356902

The best manufacturers of sticks out there bar none are the CH Products line and the Thrustmaster Line.
Saitek is a good budget stick but after many issues with poor quality control, I can't really recommend them unless you're really hurting for cash.

CH is good right out of the box, but I'm not really fond of the way the throttle looks or feels. They don't call it the "Potatoe" throttle for nothing.

Thrustmaster is by far the best quality, but also the highest priced. Since they still use pots in the Cougar line, you'll have to do a little maintenance or just upgrade to Halls Effect Sensors. They have fixed this with the new "Warthog" stick and throttle, but I've been hearing rumors of some issues with them. I'm sure they will get it all ironed out with the next revision as the Warthog has only been out a couple of months.

Hope this helps give you a bit of knowledge to work with in your selection.

S!