As an airline pilot who grew up playing MSFS in all its versions and also owns the most current version FS2000 I can say this: It is NOTHING like the real thing.
First off I guess I am weird... I can land the sim AND the real thing but as many know there is a huge difference in the real thing from the sim which is horrible in showing the real "feel" of being in a plane. The MSFS is terrible at reproducing the sense of speed, visual cues, or control forces of a real airplane. It is EXCELLENT however for making people intrested in avaition (I really believe MSFS plays some role in me being a professional pilot today) and giving some a general idea of what goes on in a cockpit.
I have no problem with people telling me they fly MSFS and want to talk shop with a real pilot. I would laugh if like some people have stated I were approached by a MSFS jockey who started wanting to compare the finer tips of landing the Saab 340B based on the latest version they downloaded in the sim.
The sim is incredible for $49 but please $49 does not teach you to fly a $10,000,000 plane.
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