Finally my Thrustmaster Warthog has a fully functional Z axis! I've used 2 additional joysticks to make that work: JSK-420 Gembird Flightstick and Saitek's Pacific AV8R. Maybe the under-the-desk look is not very professional but the joystick is really well-mounted and most importantly... the Z axis works! The above-the-desk look:
The upper bearing is clearly visible here. The lower bearing is on the bottom side of the desk keeping the stick stable at all times. Close-up of the upper bearing:
Bottom (under-the-desk) side - the bottom bearing is visible and the Z azis servo on the very bottom of the structure.
The remains of 2 other joysticks that were used.
