Others have addressed the issue of type of plane to select. I will comment on the simulator side of your inquiry.

For the most part, you can forget the FS2004. The biggest problem with it is that you fly from the perspective of the pilot. This is good for simulating full sized airplanes, but not for RC flying. Even if you choose tower view, these are simulated full sized aircraft, nor RC aircraft. The flight characteristics of RC planes are different than full sized planes. RC planes often fly at speeds and perform manuvers that would destroy full sized planes, and are outside the flight characteristics modeled in FS2004.

For RC flying, you have to learn to fly the plane while standing on the ground. This introduces a problem that a lot of people struggle with. When the airplane is flying toward you, the controls appear reversed. If you give left turn inputs, the plane will turn to your right. When the plane is flying away from you, the controls appear normal - left input turns plane to your left.

A better choice is a flight simulator that is specific to RC flying. There are a number of them. Real Flight G2 from Great Planes is the most common (it is what I use). The perspective is from a standing point on the ground. The airplanes are simulations of actual RC airplanes, from trainers to jets, gliders to helicopters. Real Flight uses a USB connected dummy controller that is like an RC transmitter, not a gaming joystick. You can even connect to your real transmitter and fly the simulator with it. There are other brands that are available. There is even a free one you can find on the internet called FMS. You can buy an adapter that allows you to use your transmitter with it as well.

The Real Flight G2 sells retail for about $200. I have seen it on EBay for around $140. It is money well spent! you can crash it over and over, and just push the spacebar to restart. It's also good on those days when weather, or limited time, or a crashed - ah - er, trainer undergoing "improvements", prevent you from getting down to the field.

Scott