Razor-RCU has it dead right. Sims are sims, & they aren't really very close to reality. As an example, one of my current students happily buzzes around on his sim without trouble. In real life he struggles mightily. On the sim he simple takes off, and flies. In reality he has not successfully accomplished a single take-off. His flying is helped by the sim re. the left/right issue, but that's about it. He has trouble dealing with the speed of the aircraft & the nervous tension associated with flying the noisy, expensive & contrary-minded real thing.

With sims, there is little realistic provision for turbulence, crosswinds, untrue & out-of-trim models, improper C-of-G effects, latteral imbalance, airframe flexing, surging engines, sun in your eyes & the paralysis that some students face when their hard-earned money is doing something other than what they would like it to do (stay airborn).

While the sim helps in getting the student's head wrapped around the basic concept, plus assists in teaching directionally, & to some extent magnitudinally correct control deflections, the real thing and a buddy box is a vastly better teaching tool.