Sims are definitely a big help. The original Great Planes Real Flight is where I did all my crashing before ever setting foot on the field with a "real" plane. The practice did me so much good that the guy who held the buddy box my first time out thought I was good enough to land. As it was, I made my first landing on my second buddy-box session, then my first takeoff.

Considering the number of planes I crashed in the sim, it paid for itself the day I installed it