good combat flight sim, joystick questions

Looking for a good, ufree/u combat flight sim that works w/
windows xp.
Also have problem with joystick that i have been posting around:


I have Radioshack 26-164, a gameport-to-usb adapter. I have a laptop
w/o a gameport, and a great MS Sidewinder. The computer sees the
adapter as a game controller, but I can't calibrate anything because
it doesnt respond to movement from the joystick. According the the
calibration page, all of the buttons, sliders, and axes are going
crazy, while I'm not even touching anything. HELP!

Last question:
what is a good, well priced joystick that will last, and is useful and
easy, like my old MS Sidewinder 3d Pro