Although I would have to agree with most of the post's here as far as realism, I can't comfortably say that a flight sim is the only way to learn. Get yourself an instructor and a buddy box. A flightsim will NEVER act out real world situations, as there can be many distractions at the field. e.g. Wind gusts, flyers taking off and landing, flame outs (dead sticks) you and them, multiple aircraft flying, your spotter standing next to you giving you hints/tips/panic attics, those crazee 3D flyers, birds, radio glitches, sun spots, clouds, etc. etc. etc. AND remember, that which scares us only makes us stronger!!!

HOWEVER, flightsims' are great and will help in building hand eye coordination and will help to identify your aircrafts orientation, is it coming at you or going away from you, left or right? While you continue to do your research, check this freebie out. Oh, and you can also build an patch cord to use your transmitter, as long as it has a trainer cord option.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html