"DGS" wrote in message
...

Theres no doubt that I went into it thinking that my time on sims
would give me a leg up.

It will. You probably already know where to find and how to use a VOR in a
Cessna, for example, and cross-referencing the instrument panel will
probably be a lot easier and more native to you. Maybe not right away.

You just have to get past the mechanical differences of flying an airplane
versus simulating one. There will be a few sim habits to undo, but, as you
clearly already understand, the experience of the real deal entirely
overpowers the sim experience.

-c