da Rock

Your thoughts are good ones.

Any of the sims provide the most important practice. Of course, that same practice can be had just buying a really cheap RC car from Radio Shack. Sims or RC cars... they provide a cheap and safe way to learn how to steer/fly when the sucker is coming at you. It's the skill that's often hardest to learn and the situation most apt to cost you money right off the bat.