Go ahead and engage the dumb ass. Most of us made that mistake at one time
or another. You will find he is nothing but a prick in sheeps clothing.

I try not to engage in conversations with him as I have 'known' him
for a couple of years now and know what he is like. He does partake
in other forums which relate specifically to the simulator/game and
believe me there is a similar attitude towards him by quite a few
there too.

I can empathise with most of your posts which I read last night (boy
is this thread long!). It is simply WRONG for MX to assume that he is
as 'good' as a real pilot because his soul training is based on the
simulator and theory from reading books and flight manuals. Yes they
DO help alot but you need that tactile feeling of flight and the true
effects of the controls which the sim cannot bring to life. It is
also WRONG for everyone here to completely disregard Microsoft's
software solely as a 'game' rather than a 'Training Aid' because of
your revulsion to MX's persona! I want to reiterate I'm defending the
simulator more than defending MX here.

FSX 'taught' me a hell of a lot before I even stepped into a real
cockpit. With the right add-ons and hardware it can be very
intutative and emersive. I have a proper yoke with throttle quadrant
with levers for mixture, throttle and flaps. I have rudder pedals
too. The highly detailed aircraft from PDMG have Full photorealistic
3D cockpits and with the use of a piece of hardware called TrackIR Pro
which can track your head movements allowing you to look and move all
around the flightdeck. Every switch is where it is on the real
aircraft, every dial does as it should, the glass cockpits are all
modelled exactly the same too. Ok I have NEVER stepped into a REAL
747 flightdeck but have a lot of flightdeck videos including the
excellent Virgin Atlantic 747-400 http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=ITV-74V-001
which goes over every system in fine detail and they are indeed very
well modelled by PMDG The 747-400 also comes with approximately a 700
page manual detailing all the systems and procedures so it's certainly
not for the average 'gamer'. Hundreds of differing failures can be
set to run at a timed point or randomly too to add realism with
failure checklists printed in the manuals.

I'm sure some of you guys would actually enjoy it if you tried it
properly with good quality payware aircraft, detailed airports and the
right hardware. It can teach you SO much when it comes to navigation.

Whilst I enjoy using FSX I will NEVER belittle a real pilot by saying
I'm better than you which is a pitfall MX quite often falls into but I
can whole heartidly state it CAN teach you a hell of a lot more than
some of you guys think. I don't know any of you guys or your
qualifications (I apologise) but for those with a basic PPL may I ask
if YOU stepped onto a flightdeck of a 747-400 or a 737NG would you
understand how to control it? A good flight simulator can help that
lack of knowledge.

Ibby