First i would like to say that i like the game very much and that it runs absolutely fine on both my computers...

However when i activate flight assist mode on my laptop under Arch Linux with kernel 2.34.arch then the throttle is acting all funny on me.

In normal flight mode all is fine and the throttle stays where i put it... but in fa mode the throttle keeps returning by itself to the middle position....
wether i move it up or down after about a second it moves back to the middle again.
This is so anying when trying to mine :-( the ship will just not stay in position.

can anyone suggest what this could be ? and why only my laptop is affected ?

It's a HP DV62120ED

you have a joystick or game pad connected and are using keyboard/mouse to fly

At least that is what mine does in that situation.

your right... it was the joystick :-( but a couple of things i don't quite get.

1. why does this only affect the throttle when f/a is active ?
2. why does my machine says there is a joystick when there is none.
3. if there is no joystick, where is the input signal comming from ?

No other program on my machine sees this joystick ? is it a game feature to see a stick when there isn't any ?

TOLD YOU SO!

Maybe it's some other device that is recognized as a joystick.

This might return some information if you have hal:
hal-device $(hal-find-by-capability --capability input.joystick)