I have used flight sim for a few years now and have found that it is very different to real life flying ( handling wise) - im talking about flying the Cessnas and Pipers on there ( im only a PPL holder at the moment!). When flying you feel the forces associated with the aircraft and the effect of wind on landing (and during other stages of flight).
When flying on flight sim i do enjoy it but appreciate that it is only a simulator. If I want to make FS as realistic as possible (when flying the jets), i get used to using the autopilot throughout the whole flight and see how well i can program the FMC for various stages of the flight.
Many Thanks
Dan