[ODE] Player control

[David Scherfgen]

Hi,

I've succeeded in creating a simulated 3D world with ODE, and now I'm 
trying to add the player. I want the player to be able to truly interact 
with the environment in a realistic way, so the player should be a real 
ODE body with geoms attached to it.
I tried it with a simple box but got several problems. I needed enormous 
forces to move the player forward or to rotate it because of the 
friction. When the player was not on the ground, it kept flying and 
rotating forever - I guess I need some kind of damping to simulate air 
resistance.
Has anyone ever done this? Anyone know how other games do it?
Another question: How do I find out if the player is on the ground? Is 
it sufficient to create some rays under the player and check if they 
intersect the world?

Thanks for any answers!
David Scherfgen