The martians cometh
tmmorris,
If demonstrating the physics of flight is something you need to do, then with X-Plane, one has opportunity to "experience" flight on Mars, whereby the user can instantly change to Martian atmospheric conditions. This is a perhaps a more fun way of demonstrating the effects of density and temperature. Landing at 400kts is also quite an interesting exercise...
Moreover, the simpler aircraft on X-Plane are quite easy to fly, so long as the mouse is "damped" in the setttings. A key each for throttle up/down and flap up/down, "b" for brake. Stay below 3000ft in a 152 and you don't need to touch the mixture (at least, that's what my club says). I would say it's pretty cadet-proof. Buy it from the states and it's pretty cheap, even with the full global and martian "scenery". There is photo-realistic scenery now available for SE England, and soon the rest of the UK, which might be a bonus for your cadets.
AppleMacster