where do you "fly" when you're in the phase 4 sim?
Myself and 3 others on the day flew out of Bournemouth, but as chelsce said, you barely look out of the window. When your in the sim with this experienced training captain, the last thing you would do is say "Oo do you mind if we fly out of Manchester instead??"
Are the engine instruments digital as in the later 300 series, as is portrayed in the likes of the 400 in FS2004? Or are they analogue dials for the likes of N1, EGT etc?
Doesn't matter really, Cap. looks after the throttles, although the guages are digital (not sure how this compares to FS2004). See this link for an almost identical FD compared to the sim:
http://www.b737.org.uk/flightdeck737classic.jpg
It's near impossible to prepare as there isn't much to prepare for. You are given simple instructions really, nothing you could revise. Therfore IMO it's best to ask the captain when you're there, it will show you're interested!
In short, you will fly an ascent to ~8000ft, practise turns maintaining altitude, practise descents and more turns, then
possibly allow you to intercept ILS and fly the approach right down to the ground
Believe me after stage 2/3 is done you'll find this amazing fun!