I received RealFlight 3.5 for Christmas and had been using it religiously practicing with the Hobbico Electristar until the weather cleared here in Cleveland, OH (last Saturday). The simulator gave me enough confidence to try to fly my real Electristar without an instructor. I was very nervous until the plane took off and proved it could "fly". After that, it was surprisingly easy. The best part about the simulator is seeing the plane fly in every possible attitude, over and over, and learning how to move the controls. As Piroflip mentioned, I did not have to "think" about how to control the plane. It was automatic. On the second and third flights, I was not nervous at all - just completely enjoying the experience and wishing I had 5 sets of batteries! I estimate spending about 100 hours on the simulator with every possible combination of wind speed, direction, and turbulence. Plus, I've always been very good with video games; the hand-eye coordination translates directly to flying. It's hard to imagine people learning to fly (instructor or not) without the help of a simulator. I can imagine some very nervous flight time without the extra practice. Plus, they're fun to use when the weather doesn't cooperate, which happens a lot in Cleveland.