i've tried flying both the Jetranger and Pave Low (or was it Pave Hawk?), but i can't control them...the only helo i can get and most of all keep airborne, is the Robinson...

Yea, it's a funny thing. If you have the realism setting too high, like anything over about 70%, apparently not even real helicopter pilots can control them. Using these video game joysticks just doesn't replicate the controls for the helicopter well enough to use that much realism.
I just read on a heli forum where the author took a flight in a real Bell 206 to compare it to the one in FS9. He now puts his realism at about 55% or so. He said that simulates the real helicopter the best.
Give that a try and see if it helps.
Mike G.