VKB-SIM

... probably silly. But am I supposed to keep joystick and blackbox plugged in to the the PC all the time? Since there is no power button in the blackbox, I do not want to plug in / plug out everytime I run a sim. But I am concerned it might short or get damaged if it is plugged in all the time. Is there any such risk?

These devices have been designed to stay plugged in the computer all the time. It's also fine to disconnect them for storage after every game session. There's definitely the risk of getting them damaged by power surges or spikes, but in cases like this your whole computer as well as any other electronics would suffer. But there's also the risk of an earthquake or a flood out there, so let's just be casual about it and face these issues when they arrive.

You are running risk to the connectors if you keep plugging and plugging.. My advice is to get a usb hub with switches