W7wv,
If you read the last line of my post you will see that I did acknowlege your prior experience in this hobby, and that this information probably didn't apply to you. I posted this information in order for those that have never flown before to see that a simulator isn't the ONLY thing needed to learn to fly. These threads on RCU are always available long after the discussion is finished, and somebody later on may read this thread and think that because you used a simulator to get back into this hobby and think that they could use one to learn to fly. This is why I posted this informtion so that the "pluses" and "minuses" of using a simulator when learning to fly are out in the open.

I am not judging your abilities at all, in fact I did state in the last line of my post that your experiences would probably help you realize the hazards of using a simulator so I am sorry if this statement upset you. I have been an instructor for 10 years now, and have been helping out in this forum for almost 6 years, so I've got plenty of experience in this area. I've seen more than enough people think that the simulator is all that they need to learn to fly, and then find out the hard way when they try to fly that it wasn't enough to prepare them. There are many regular members that participate in this forum that want to help beginners avoid these types of circumstances, and this is why I posted this information. We do not "judge" anybody here, but rather simply try to help. That's what this forum on RCU is all about and that is what we are trying to do here.

Once again, I am sorry if you are upset at this because it wasn't my intent. But this information will help others that read this thread.

Ken