I was at the flying field the other day and completed my second and third solo flights. On my second solo I earned my blue dot which at our club means I can fly without an instructor now. Some of the membership say it really means that I have progressed from student to entertainment!

However, on my first flight I was really not doing great as I had four engine killing landings. I did more walking than flying. I was over controlling and putting the plane in less than ideal attitudes.

I had done so well the previous trip out that I started questioning what was different. I then thought about the fact that I had spent the last week playing with the flight sims. In my opinion, the flight sims hurt me. They were the cause of the problems. The next flight I just
went back to what I learned at the field and it worked wonderfully.

My point is this...

Many people here say that spending money on a flight sim could save you the cost of a plane. I'm beginning to think this is a fallacy. In fact, buying and using a flight sim may just actually cost you a plane. Not only are they not very realistic to what I see at the field, they can build overconfidence which is dangerous. They may be great for learning maneuvers, but I am not sure they are good for learning to fly. They may also develop bad habits which do not work well at the field.

Nothing beats a good instructor.