In FSX you can change the control mode to a linear fashion by editing the .CFG file (Google it). Then you can use the sensitivity sliders to reduce the range of motion. A better option is to use a payware add-on program called FSUIPC (Google it), which will allow you to edit the controls more precisely.
Frankly you won't ever get it to feel realistic, but it might be sufficient for your purposes. If you are just practicing procedures it might be easier and cheaper to just use the mouse and keyboard.
I may just try that on my friend's setup, thanks. I've used some free flash-based web pages for practice before, such as
this one.
Whilst I found and still find it invaluable, I'm looking for a bit more 'fun' when practicing. I have four monitors kicking around so I'd like two for visuals, one for a panel and I don't know what I'd have the other for (big GPS?!) I like the thought of being able to take off, fly from A to B and watch the runway lights & PAPIs pop out of IMC through my virtual windows (for me, that's the satisfaction I get when on an ILS approach, it's the fascination and awe in knowing that the bunch of steam driven dials in front of me got me lined up).
You talk about yoke and rudder movement but I suggest on your next flight you check the movement of the real controls !
At a fast cruise you will find the real controls only move about 1 inch at high speed while as you know in landing near the stall the rudder and elevators will give full deflection!
Sadly the MSFS flight dynamics engine is highly complex and has hardly changed over the years modelling flight dynamics poorly especially in put of the box manoeuvres!
Down load models from realairsimulations where flight dynamics guru Rob Young extracted and tricked the MSFS dynamics engine into giving a quite realistic feel ! Also look at controls which are spring loaded to give an artificial resistance
Pace
I never mentioned the rudder...
I know that there is less movement in the cruise compared to when operating close to the stall, which is why I questioned what could be done about the elevator... a maximum travel (on the CH yoke) of a couple of inches towards the belly isn't enough in my eyes, which I think results in a twitchy, over sensitive simulation.
I quoted the ailerons in my original post as I reckon that if I'm turning the yoke upside down during anything other than going down the checklist, I'm operating outside my ability. Turning a CH yoke to 70 degrees apparently has the same effect, so I was looking for ways of making this more realistic.
FakePilot- You can remove the null zone in the FS settings (Alt to show menu-> Options-Settings-Controls I think). I took it off and it's much better.
I take it the 'null zone' is an amount of input that's ignored by the simulator, to allow for strained/stretched springs etc and to reduce the possibility of 'pulling'? How is that different to calibration? Has any company made a force feedback yoke? I had a sidewinder joystick years ago, it was brilliant. The way it could throw your arm around was surprising, to say the least.
Also, I've seen a free simulator called 'FlightGear'. Is this any good? The visuals don't look brilliant, but is it a more realistic feel than MSFS? I tried X-Plane on my old joystick and thought it was crap. I couldn't even get a plane with the right gear in it, never mind actually do something useful, though maybe I should have given it a bit more of a chance.