ansonjerome wrote:
Simply put, how do you go about practicing for cross country flights, radio
comm, etc from the comfort of your own home?


Try Xplane.
You can set it up with voice input and join other armchair flyers online
for virtual fly-ins. Somewhat tedious to get setup, and not much in the
way of documentation available.


Xplane and its ilk are questionable as actual flight simulators. You
don't get any of the kinetic sensory input, and still can only barely
land most of the airplanes. But they are excellent for practicing
procedures. Think of it as glorified hangar flying.