A group that I belong to gives free airplane rides to kids between age 8 and 17. I personally have given over 100 such rides. The vast majority (nearly all) of these kids have never been in a small airplane before. I always stick them in the "pilot's" seat (left-hand) and offer them the ability to take the controls in flight if they want. I've only had one or two refuse. Some do well, some don't.
What I've noticed is that kids who admit to playing a lot of video games do very well. Their hand/eye coordination is extraordinary, and they seem to easily grasp the concept of moving the control wheel in a certain way to make the view out the windshield do what they want. In fact, some of them are so good that it's spooky.
I have no doubt that "wish2bflying" did so well, and congratulate him on it. That must have been incredibly fun and rewarding. I see a day coming when common computer "flight simulators" get so good that we really will be able to teach someone to fly without it having to be in a "real" airplane. Right now, with the proper hardware (control wheel/pedals) and a good sim program, it comes awfully close. I'd love to sample the sim that "wish2bflying" used, as well as the one "bugdevheli" built.
And wouldn't it be nice to cut the cost of flight training? Sims are the wave of the future. If they could only teach judgement...