Charlie and nickwap are on the pin point. A simulator WILL save you hundreds or thousand (or even millions!) of dollars. I use the Real Flight G2. It took me about a month and I learned how to hover in all orientations. After I thought I had masterd hovering, I started my Shuttle with training gear. I have flown about 70 flights and still have not crashed (I have neared many though). I'm now flying a Raptor 50. Would not be where I am without the simulator. The CSM simulator may fly better than the Real Flight, but it has poor graphics and must run in DOS. If you have a new computer you cannot run it.