Yes IMO a trainer is a must. No matter what anyone says while most modern sims are good they are not completly reasistic. A model in a sim is set up perfect, most real planes arn't. They also do not behave exactly like any model i've flown. One big problem with the sim is there is no fear. I am a MUCH better heli pilot on my sim than in real life. As a wise man once said. Doing it on the sim does not count.