RE: Flight Simulator
I like the physics of Phoenix. I used aeroflight pro deluxe and find all the planes too floaty. Realflight physics is pretty good I think. I've used clearview, FMS, FSOneand a few others.
With Phoenix, you can change the CG, throws, pretty much anything you want on the plane. You can tweak the physics, too. I personally find Phoenix to be the best.
Obviously, they're all simulators - they're not real, as much as we'd like them to be.