After playing for a couple of hours, I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with AC. I don't have a lot of experience playing these sorts of games, so the criticisms levied by more hardcore flight sim gamers are lost on me.
I'm currently using a 360 controller, which for me is a lot more intuitive than the keyboard. However, the broken wrist limits my ability to work the left side of the controller.
I think the flight physics could use a little bit of work, but that may be my lack of skill shining through. Visually it looks very good, and I can tell I'm far more interested in exploring than dog fighting because I'd much rather scan asteroids than shoot Vanduul.
So far enjoyable for me!