Unfortunately it was too difficult using the hat switch to look and having to use the mouse to activate buttons/switches to be worthwhile
(I feel like a f*cking nerd for admitting that.)
You'd be even more of a f*cking nerd, but TrackIR would be your solution. 6DOF would really help with the view limitations of flightsims, I would think. Hat switches are a pain in the ass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrackIR