This one was done to death on JetBlast. The answer seems to be a simple 'no'. Yes, I will agree that the basic flight controls do the same job in all fixed-wing aircraft (with the possible exception of a harrier), but consider the docile way in which an airliner will respond to your commands and then add to that the fact that the airliner will land faster than Vmax for most training aircraft. This makes the whole process a very delicate balancing act that ATPLs make their living from. Jet engines also have delayed reaction times, and will probably produce unexpected pitching moments if you are flying manually. I don't know personally, but i've heard that autopilot systems are not straight-forward pieces of kit to the uninitiated. Neither are the radios.
All things considered, it's a nice idea and one that i've thought of many times, but probably a bit beyond us PPLs in practice.
Ginger
