Flutterby™! : flight controls

I have Charlene wanting to buy cool peripherals for the computer! Specifically, she wants to set up a helicopter simulator. Anyone out there with flight simulator experience have suggestions or experience for pedals and other controls? (Larry?)

I don't think the budget right now will handle any of the FLYIT products, but by the time you total up a complete set of CH Products pedals and sticks maybe something like the CopyCat simulator controls aren't too far out of the price range, and Steve's Helicopter Controls look pretty darned nice if I can get the use of my deck back before the rainy season hits, and I could do that with a $20 joystick! I've even got half a sheet of 3/4" birch ply in the basement looking for a project.

Any suggestions for helicopter simulation software? X-Plane has at least a Jet Ranger, I've found a few different models for Flight Gear, but I don't know how good their respective simulations are. I'd probably prefer something we can run under Linux, but I'd even consider Microsoft Flight Simulator if it's reasonable. Everything I'm reading says that X-Plane is the best microcomputer simulator for fixed-wing aircraft, but I haven't found anything that goes into details about how their helicopter models are.