All the sims are good, just get 1. A sim will make learning much cheaper, easier and faster. You can learn on the computer and the try it for real. Even the old G2 sim is a good place to start, although it doesn't 3D all that well it's the only sim I have ever used and has taught me an awful lot. Sure wish I'dhad at 15 years old when I taught myself to fly without any help at all. Wow was that a costly and time consuming way to do it.