i bind cockpit controls to the keyboard, it requires some familiarization but it helps if you come up with a system for where to bind, either based on correlating locations or by functionality. in the past i moved the mouse over to my left side but the biggest problem with mouse activation is the lack of feedback which results in much more visual attention required than in reality.
i agree using the mouse to click on switches is less authentic than the physical act of reaching out to push a button