Yeah, HOTAS is the way. I got mine mounted in front of, and in line with the armrests with vesa tube mounting brackets on an ikea chair… Let me have a look if I have some old pictures on this computer…
edit: I actually took the mounts to a store to test if you could mount them on a Playseat Challenge and it’s doable if you want a simple portable combo rig.
Beautiful. I was going to mount mine on a loose keyboard tray I don’t use and just put it on my lap…but actually I just combine my HOTAS together (I have a cheaper TFlight HOTAS 4), and it works fine just on my lap with nothing else. Ideally I’d like a cockpit with the ability to use both my wheel/pedals and HOTAS, but they just take up too much room for me.
I did this exact setup a few years back with my x-56 (since replaced with virpil alphas) - vesa clamps onto the arms of (in my case) an ikea Markus chair using high strength velcro. It was better than having them on the desk, where they would slide & be far too high up, but I eventually grew tired of the faff of taking them on & off between sessions and upgraded to the monstertech desk mounts, which, while a bit of an investment, I find significantly more useful & convenient.
I’ve got a similar setup, for my X52 HOTAS, although I simply bought the components from MonsterTech (in Germany). I especially like the quick-release clamps. The kit is a bit pricey, but very well-made. Shipping costs are high.