Thanks for your reply and for posting the pictures.
Yes, I was thinking Arduino would be the way to go but to get a new Fighterstick and rip out the existing CH Force FX handle would be a waste.
Shame that the Logitech Force Feedback stick is no longer supported. I think they'd be quite cheap and easy to find.
By the way, that post by snomhf was what got me started. He seemed to have made quite a detailed documentation of the process but the Photobucket site has stopped displaying their members' pictures.