Kingfish writes:

And, by default, sim-only pilots would know even less?

No. The people who know most about flying jet airliners are the pilots of
those airliners. But sim pilots of jet airliners are likely to know a lot
more about them than real-world pilots who fly only tin cans. Airliners are a
whole different world, and it is clear that many pilots here have never gone
anywhere near that world. Some of their comments about flying reveal how
little they know about other types of flying besides their own.

In many respects, a PC simulator is closer to a real airliner than a small GA
aircraft is. Someone who is familiar only with the latter is thus at a
disadvantage when it comes to discussing many aspects of flying large
aircraft.

And the reason for more airline pilots simming is easy enough to understand.
Pilots of large airliners naturally tend to enjoy flying them, but they can't
possibly afford to buy one of their own. So a good compromise is to use a
simulator. If they need the wind in their hair, they can fly a tin can, but
if they want to enjoy the procedural and other aspects of flying an airliner,
they don't have much choice other than simulation. The best simulations on a
PC, though, are now pretty good, better than many here seem to realize. This
is especially true if you are not a thrillseeker and you don't need the wind
in your hair or the threat of death to be happy. (I certainly hope that there
aren't too many airline pilots who fly because they are afraid of dying!)

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