Don't know why this thread was dredged up from February, but here's my 2¢ on the issue. I agree with Rog. Any flight time is better than sim time. I have done enough of both to see that there are many things even a good sim just won't teach you. A sim is primarily good for teaching orientation and timing. That said, don't fly the PTS alone until you have gotten enough instruction to be capable of doing so safely.

Secondly, in my opinion, anyone who unequivocally claims that parkflyers are totally different than glow planes or will teach you bad habits is not sufficiently experienced with parkflyers to make such blanket statements. A 50mph, 4 channel, 2lb, 200 watt plane meets most official parkflyer definitions, and can perform equivalently to an average .25 glow ship. I have several "parkflyers" that can outperform the average .40 size plane in most if not all areas and require more skill to fly. The performance capability of parkflyers has evolved over the past few years, but many peoples opinions have not. Besides, how is learning to fly on the wing instead of raw thrust, and learning to use a rudder a bad thing?