I use the CH Flight Sim Yoke and find it adequate to the task. There are others which are much more expensive and deliver better performance, but I believe it is really the settings in the controls panel plus the flight model you use which makes all the difference.
If you wish to do even more in terms of settings, Peter Dowson's FSUIPC allows further possibilities in calibrating the yoke or stick.
However, there is something which needs to be said (again) about MSFS, which I seem to repeat to those outside that industry quite regularly.
The out of the box MSFS is comparable to an out of the box Windows Operating system. Yes, in Windows alone as it comes you have a word processor, a graphics program and most of what you really need. But does anyone use Windows this way? Nobody I know. MSFS is exactly the same. It is a fully operational simulation program but it is primarily an Operating System for addons. It is the addons which turn this product into a useable simulator for many different purposes. Without it, it is exactly what you'd expect of a £50 game.
Yes, this is MSFS too:
as well as this, a full airliner Cockpit built on Prepare 3D, the successor to FSX.
Or this here, a Russian using Project Tupolev.
Home Cockpit Tu-154B-2 (Flying in a circle in the UHPP) - Simulators - Avsim R Us
The impact which addons have are hugely evident as well in scenery as in airplanes. Flight models are HUGELY different. The basic FS planes are in my opinion not the ones one should use for this purpose, most simmers ignore them totally.
You are trying to simulate a PA28, there are several around, commercial and others, which can be used. Carenado have an Archer II, Just Flight an Archer III, there are freeware -140 and -180 around, just google them. I don't know any of them but you need to try them out. There are huge differences.
Personally I fly a vintage Mooney and use the Carenado M20J for training and skill keep over the nasty season. Carenados planes are almost always underpowered vs the real thing which in my case produces just the right amount of difference between my "C" model and the "J" they model
, in other cases, they can be tweaked.
I did find good models for other planes on the freeware market as well as payware, with over 25 years in that field I have come across quite a few excellent and many more totally unusable planes.
Yes, MSFS is more difficult to operate than the real plane, which in itself is not a bad thing. Many sims are like that, even full flight sims. That means however, if you manage the task in MSFS and go to the real plane, you end up having extra capacity because it is easier to fly.
I have taken up the practice to prepare for flights to places I have not been before or other routes which I want to have a previous look at using MSFS X plus the said addon and I have to say, it is a very good thing to do, gives you plenty of extra time in the real thing. I'd have to say that whenever possible I do so using additional scenery (flying in Switzerland and Germany I have photosceneries for both countries plus Austria, there are excellent ones available for the UK) plus where available correctly modelled airports. In the UK, there are MANY small airports published by Alf Denham for free, available at avsim.com.
As I said, I am in simulation business wise since the 1990ties and I do know them all. Flight Gear could not really keep me going for more than a few minutes. X-Plane is an alternative but it is very complex in terms of use and a bit like the Windows vs Linux debate. I know Austin Mayers and some mayor players in X-Plane but I'd like to see it develop more before I'd comit to it. MSFS X has reached a very high level of accuracy not as a naked system but if it is pimped with addons as required for the task. It (as well as Xplane) is used by some professional outfits (especcially the follow up Lockheed Prepare3D engine) and does well there. Tupolev Design Bureau have been running a TU154 rig for pilot training for years by now.
I myself had a 10 year hiatus from real world flying for personal reasons and I'd honestly have to say without the fact that I did work as a editor for a flightsim mag and as such have logged well over 10k hours on MSFS since the 1990ties have helped me big time getting back in.
So yes, MSFS can and should be used in this context but with properly set up controls, with the addons you need for your tasking and with sufficient seriousness required of any form of training. But then it can be a relatively inexpensive way of keeping up and working your way towards a goal.
Best regards
An2 Driver