My experience of x-winds inside and outside the box has been that sims are good for technique (if you've got one
) and not much else. However, IMHO, if you can get it in roughly the right place at the right speed when training, the real thing should work out OK.
I'm not surprised that a bunch of computers and hydraulics simulating another bunch of computers and hydraulics which is the interface to the pilot of a big lump of metal nailed to a wing experiencing all sorts of different air motions, doesn't quite live up to expectations...