I have had great success with a desktop sim (Elite ver 8) for maintaining instrument proficiency in airplanes. However, I found that to make this work really well, it was necessary to add a fairly complete set of external airplane controls/radios. In other words, flying with a keyboard dosesnt cut it. I am about to begin training for an Instrument-Helicopter rating and would like to give X Plane or FS a try. Just wondering if anyone is using external helicopter like controls with this software, and, if so, which are recommended?