A question for those using an XBox-style controller...

While I use a joystick on my desktop system, there doesn't seem to be room for one in my laptop bag, and so I've had to resort to the Logitech F310, a near-XBox 360 clone, for when I'm away from home.

I have mine pretty much set up according to this article -- specifically, with the "yoke" on the left thumbstick, and the rudder pedals on the left and right triggers.

The problem I'm having has to do with coordinated left-hand turns, particularly climbing ones (as in turning onto the crosswind leg of a left-hand pattern), even at the easiest realism settings.  I use my thumb on the "yoke" to roll it to the left while simultaneously applying the proper amount of back-pressure.  All well and good, but, when I have to use my left index finger to "step on the ball" (required in any but the most shallow turns), the very "pinching" counter-action of the thumb and forefinger moving opposite each other generally means that I can't hold my thumb position precisely in place on the stick.  The usual result is that I inadvertently release back-pressure, and the climbing aircraft promptly goes into a quick dive, requiring some very fast, jerky moves on my part to get it stabilized, resulting in wild arcade-game "yank and bank" action that is about as unlike smooth flying as one could imagine.  Meanwhile, by the time I get the "yoke" controlled again, the turn coordinator has its ball at one end of the tube or the other, and I'm slipping and sliding all over the sky.

Of course, I could just leave autorudder on, but where would the challenge be in that?  :wink:

I can't help get the feeling that different control sensitivities might help this problem, but I haven't found any through my own experimentation.  So, I'm asking -- are you using an XBox-style controller, with autorudder turned off, and find yourself able to coordinate "yoke" and "rudder" without inadvertently turning into a one-pilot flying circus?  If so, are there any specific tricks to learn?  In particular, if part of what you have done is to tweak the controller input, could you please either post your AxScale and AxNull numbers for each axis found in your Controls\Standard.xml file, or a capture of the settings screen showing how your sliders are set?

And, if nobody has had success with this, can you recommend a joystick small enough to be able to fold up and fit in an already-cramped laptop bag?