Heh, heh, look at the times of our posts--
we were typing "4 Star" and "Tiger 2" at the same time, I just beat you to the "Post reply" button by a few seconds.

I do want to comment on one thing that you said, though. You said that a SIM is not that close to the real thing. In my very humble (and inexperienced) oppinion, given calm winds, flying a real r/c plane is EASIER than flying on a SIM[X(] Granted the stakes are higher, as there is no RESET button
You also mention trimming/tuning etc... But I think that is part of the importance of a good instructor (which is why I mentioned instructors and buddy boxes in my first post.)
I respect the fact that you are vastly more experienced than I am, and I am certainly not itching for a debate, I'm just fanning the flames of conversation so that newbies like me and parktm can learn as much as possible.

ScottyO.