I have a rolling chair, I use a soft mat so the chair doesn't roll back when I push on the pedals. However, I can still rotate my chair.

I had the same problem and found an comfortable rotating "leather" dining room chair which sits on a round foot. You can thus rotate the chair but it doesn't roll away when using pedals. The underside of the foot has some sort of felt material so it slides easily on the hardwood floor if you lift your butt off it a tiny bit. The chair is a bit Miami Vice-ish but it got approved by the family and it's very comfortable.

http://www.mio.se/Matrum/Stolar/Stol1/Op...-45-D-58-H-105/

But I've flown years with rudder mapped to either a twist stick (no so good) or a spare axis on the throttle (works fine) so you can absolutely manage without pedals. All your simming buddies will think you're a lamer though ... It's a bit like buying a sports car and then opting for a automatic gearbox.

-C-

when I'm too lazy to take the pedals off the shelf i use the targeting cursor of the tqs (and i manage targets with the UHF/VHF hat).

Are they necessary? No. Not really. TrackIR is much more important, IMO. Nice to have? Sure. I do use them (Saitek), just not enough that I would run right out and buy more if they crap out. Use those little furniture "cups" that you put under table legs on carpet to keep your chair from moving.