JR
Thx so much for your reply. I found the culprit . In my attempts to get it working on other apps, I had downloaded a program called USB Overdrive which is supposed to "help" you get USB devices to work. I had downloaded this to help with other apps, not X-Plane, but obviously had an effect on it as well. so, In my case it did the opposite. Binned it and with a bit of effort all is now well.
Again, thx for help
Rgds
Phil