"Highflyer" wrote in message
...
Based on my experience your skill with Flight Sim will give you so many
bad habits to unlearn and overcome before you can fly a real airplane
safely that it will take you considerably longer to achieve the competency
required to a license.

I STRONGLY second this opinion, both as a retired professional flight
instructor AND as a present Microsoft MVP with their flight simulation
program.
There is no substitute....and I repeat, NO SUBSTITUTE...... for a student
actually feeling the control PRESSURES that are inherent in the specific
type of aircraft being used for primary instruction. The "feeling" of these
pressures is a MAJOR part of the early learning curve. It is absolutely
critical that a student absorb the physical sensations and control responses
applicable to applied control pressures during this period.
The desktop flight simulators, even those using force feedback controllers
(especially these in my opinion) do NOT offer this critical input for the
student and in many cases can actually impede the student's progress with
actual flight training if used.
For these reasons, it has always been my recommendation that flight
instructors STRONGLY recommend that their students avoid the use of desktop
simulators between the first hour of dual and solo.
After that, under CFI supervision, a desktop simulator can be of use as a
teaching aid dealing with procedures, pre- cross country, and especially
primary instrument familiarization.
Dudley Henriques