ORIGINAL: MinnFlyer
ORIGINAL: GTac01
Worked for me, who soloed 6 days after getting airplane, trained in sim for a week...
Simulators are a great asset, but there's nothing like the real thing.
GTac01 has a habbit of making himself sound like a superhero. Here's a quote from his "Solo":
I started that thing in one turn, full throttle just before a mound of bricks I lift it up like a wall, and there it was flying, I slowed it to half throttle, made some tight turns, got the plane towards me (its a habit i learned with the sim...) and behind me was the car. My dad got scared and told me to LAND NOW!, i was like holly CRAP!!, the plane went just over the car, ALMOST into a palm tree, and i put throttle to low, did 4 turn, going up and down, in circles (over the lot) until it got slower, then landed it flat parallel with the ground across the street of the lot, and it barely hit a tree which stopped the little cone of the propeller . My dad and cousin were amazed, cant beleive it, and the plane intact.
So while they are a big help, don't expect miracles.
To quote the kids of today, "OMG! PWNeD"
Sims were a great help for me. I flew on a sim for a month before going to the field. It help with orientation and learning the controls. As far as taking off and landing - the sim could have never really prepared me for it. A sim takes you part of the way but the real life experience completes it. Like someone said, it's a nice supplement. Most people can't learn to fly by sim alone but it will give you a better head start than someone who is starting without a sim.