Jay Honeck writes:

For the older guys who are now unable to fly "for real",
it's something of a moot point. For them, it's all there is.

Alas, older guys are not the only ones who cannot fly for real.

I would not trade my first solo flight for any amount of money. It
was a magical mixture of joy, excitement, personal satisfaction, and
wonder that could never be duplicated or replaced. Even if I had
never flown again, all the time, money and effort I had invested would
have made that 30-minute flight worthwhile.

So the hours of real flight after that weren't as good? And you _would_ be
able to trade those subsequent hours for a suitable amount of simulation?

Discovery flights (at least in America) are cheap. You really owe it
to yourself to just take a single flight lesson -- it can be a life-
changing event.

I've investigated flying in France a bit further, and the more I learn, the
worse it looks.

I think most pilots are familiar with flight sims, although in my
experience much of their knowledge-base is pretty out-dated, being
based on what flight simulator could do years (or even decades) ago.
Many real pilots are quite amazed at what our Kiwi can do.

That is my impression also.