Well, our team stumbled upon the greatest joystick system ever! The Saitek X52 Flight Control System (http://www.saitekusa.com/USA/prod/x52.htm). We plan to buy and program it. It has a shiny throttle and a crazy 3 axis joystick. Problem is we need the USB converter code. Also if anyone else is using this joystick system, would you mind sharing the code? 
I’m not sure it is available for release. The guys at Cross the Road Electronics are responsible for the design. I’m uncertain if they take requests for new drivers for joysticks. The Saitek Aviator and ST290 Pro both have a twist axis which might be what you’re looking for and they’re already supported.
They charge, $15 i think, for custom drivers. I dont think they will let you do it yourself.