if you're balking at the $200 for G2, you might want to look at Easyfly, it's not GREAT but the physics are pretty good, and there IS a decent trainer for it that you can download, and at only $40 from www.quantummodels.com for the version with the RC joystick (which will work with all the other sims including G2) it's a pretty good deal, I HAVE had a problem with it at one point where I managed to hose it up and it would run REALLY sluggishly but after reinstalling my OS (which needed to be done anyway) it's running great again. It's not as robust as G2 in all the customization methods and such, but if you're looking to improve your stick/eye coordination and want something that looks a little better than FMS (and has better physics on the included models as well as a few of the downloaded ones) then I'd recommend EasyFly.
I've been meaning to contact the guy who designed the EasyFly trainer and ask if I can put it up on my site as his site doesn't seem to have it anymore.
I've got an article comparing many of the sims on my site HERE. I hope you find something to suit your needs.

CharlesP