hey just a little beginners point of view. I currently can afford a simulator. Back when i was looking at my plane, not flying it, i used the FMS simulator with my keyboard, as i didnt know where to get the cables. Ta da, after 3 days on the flying field, already solo. Now i know simulators did that, but which one will get you the best results, i dont know, but at least you know that FMS, even when only using the keyboard is great because it lets you get a better orientation of the plane when its coming directly towards you. Im sure if i got a tx interface cable, i would have been able to solo much sooner, but hey, its all good. Right now, im currently looking for a sim that best simulates the Mig-15. I wanna go electric ducted fan since i started, im only going through the trainer stage. I wana simulator that can deliver the jet rush. WHich one is most realistic, and doesnt cost too much. I saw the F-86 sabre on G3, and it looks pretty good. All the professional programss cost the same and are twice a good, but like always twice as demanding for the system requirments. SO far these are mine:

Pentium 4, 2.8 Ghz
512 mb ram
50 gigs of availabe space
here is the bad part: 64 mb graphics card

Sorry for turning this into a "best sim," forum but hey, thats what the forum is about.