I got a TigerDirect catalog and near the back it had information about a product called X-Keys. Basically they have different sizes and variations. I went to their site and they have a keyboard card as well as a "X-keys USB Switch Interface" with a description of "Connect any switch (from a doorbell to a multi-position rotary switch) to any of the twelve programmable ports and easily program the switch to perform any function on a computer."There's also a reference to "home cockpits" on another page and apparently they make the "RailDriver" for train simulators.http://www.xkeys.com

my crusty memory seems to say that this was all ready mentioned. On their site, I saw there was actually a dedicated page to cockpit building, primarily the military type with some links.

I purchased an X-Keys board some time ago and used it in a basic GA sim. It worked fine. It was easy to set up and use.John