Actually i usually don't run out of mouse pad. Like i said earlier, the mouse is a different interface device as is the keyboard, gamepad, and a joystick.
Each interface device operates quite differently from one another. Yoiu could imagine the joystick as the center pinnacle of interfaces for fs2 with it's great range of motion. The keyboard with it's sensitivity controls by tapping the keys. And the mouse with running out of mouse pad?
The mouse works fine, if you all think it's so ****ty and run out of mouse pad syndrome. Why don't you go ahead and find it, you'll find it's much easier to control than the joystick and a lot more accurate, even easier to pull off complicated maneuvers with. As for running out of mouse pad...do you ever run out of mousepad playing an fps or using the windows desktop? Mouse sensitivity is set by the user's preference in mouse speed and whatever, which is also a deciding factor on the use of the mousepad as well. But here whoever thinks that i need to maneuver my ship with the mouse by doing 5foot sweep. No, no where near close, have the sensitivity set reasonably that you're not needing to drag your mouse off the pad, and i think you'd be all good. I haven't had a single problem outmaneuvering anything, even in an ursa...but fs is crazy like that making you do something like fly a huge bomber and be forced to take down some dragons or something.
Have a good mouspad to boot like a ratpad, but however, in no way is the mouse a piece of ****, and as far as i'm concerned, it's much easier than a joystick, and has increased accuracy with all of the field of motion limited to the mousepad with a lot of dragging