Thanks guys, yeah it is great being able to fly the plane "to mix things up and relax a bit" as 'bigedmustafa' put it.
Was great to have a good 6-7 min to practice circuits in a nice cross wind, and yet still be able to remain in control - that was just the icing on the cake!!.
That said, I left the takeoff and landing to the guy who worked me through the first flight, as while I'm getting there re landing's on the sim, I'm still yet to 'master' crosswind landings (if that's actually even possible??) - so I now have something to work on with the sim this week prior to next Sunday ('Phoenix' is proving to be the best investment I ever made into this hobby).

As for having issues with the heli on the sim Gray Beard, if not already, try it with about 30% expo cyclic and 20% rudder expo, and use a 50 trainer (if possible) with a constant head speed around 1800rpm, with a collective pitch angle range around -5 to +10 degrees, that will allow for a nicer handling and more stable model. I've had total noobs (zero RC aircraft experience) flying one with that setup and starting to get the feel within 10-20 min at home on my 'phoenix' program, the hardest part is adding the correct amount of throttle/collective when making small cyclic adjustments to correct for the loss of lift while trying to get a hover under control .... the rest is just a progression step by step from there - good luck, and all the best with it!!