Six months ago I decided that with absolutely no flying experience I wanted to be able to fly a 747. <snip> I felt this would be a sufficient challenge and keep my mind occupied in my spare time...
That's quite a story, although I think he needs to get out more
Shame he doesn't say how the simcheck went.
As a student PPL I've used FS2k a lot in helping me to learn routines, etc., but find it almost useless in actually teaching me to fly. Still very much doubt that these pilots were amateurs.