I purchased an adapter to use my old 15pin joysticks and flight simulator accessories with USB. Of course, the problem is that the hardware is so old that some of the variable resistors need to be cleaned with strong solvents that dissolve oxidation. And it can be difficult to get the solvent where it actually needs to get without a lot of disassembly.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R8SMK8L/
It actually costs more than a cheap gamepad but it is interesting to be able to use old joysticks and other types of controllers.
Yeah, I bought 2 of those myself for my old gameport setup(G-Force Plus yoke, $12 clearance way back when, and and old logitech side-stick(thrift store) for Airbus...combined with gameport CH Pedals(Ebay/used). The springs for the yoke are long since broken, but found using dental-bands work great, allowing me to adjust tension(add or reduce bands).
Buddy of mine bought the newer CH Yoke, I personally found them too stiff.
The full cockpit setups I've seen on YouTube are amazing...if not a bit... insane, but I fully understand the quest for the "real as it gets" addiction.
I beleive mine is USB (been so long since I used it I can’t remeber now)