There are some good points on here. Thats why I started the thread. I wanted to see what other people thought.

I agree that sims can be a great way to practice hard to do things like aerobatics, and nose in flight. Thats what its designed for. As a practice tool. I have no disagreement with people using the sim as a tool to assist with real flying.

The thing that bothers me is people that think its a substitution. It makes me cringe. To think that one day we wont have any real planes and helis and everyone will be flying competition via the internet on a TOC competition Real Flight sim. YUCK...PUKING ON FLOOR NOW.

The military uses simulators, but this is also mixed in with REAL flying. In the military, they do not teach you how to fly on a sim. They teach you how not to crash on a sim. See it would be far too dangerous to simulate a iced over wing, tip stall, number 4 engine sieze right after rotation with a real plane. Thats why they use simulators. To learn the military does just what everyone else does. Stick you in a trainer with an instructor.

Which by the way, I am quite proud of the fact that I managed to not crash after the above scenario in a C-130 Herc simulator. I was stomping rudder, and managed to bend a bolt on the control yolk....

This being said, I have no doubt that in a real aircraft, if this had happend...well lets just say there would be a big pile of molten metal about 75 yards off the end of the runway. I know this would happen. If I had kicked the rudder when the engine stalled as fast as I did, any load in the herc would have shifted violently in a real plane, but in the sim....it didnt figure this.

ChopperMike....nice .
I always explained it as ..." Imagine balancing a bowling ball on top of a pencil. Only your friend is holding the pencil, and your telling him which way to move it so it doesnt fall off."