I hope I generated a newly charged interest in this particular aspect of aviation
Flying school CFI's who read Pprune forums would be wise to carefully consider your comments. I believe they are applicable to not only jet transport simulators but synthetic training devices found in many flying schools. I am surprised that more use of these devices is not being made for ab-initio student pilots before they go for their first serious dual instructional flight. I don't include the well known TIF or trial instructional flight which introduces a would be candidate for his first feeling of flight.
Not only does a synthetic trainer allow a student to learn the names of the various instruments and levers and flight controls, it allows dual instruction to be done in a quiet room with none of the myriad distractions of a typical real flight where the racket of the engine can be nerve-wracking as is the wearing of a bulky headset with its often awkward positioning of the microphone . In the air, rapid fire ATC instructions are mostly meaningless to a student initially and even the instructor's "pattering" is frequently interrupted by the need to look outside for conflicting traffic in a training area. Air sickness may be a problem initially and that in itself can put off some students for life.
So much can be demonstrated in even a basic synthetic trainer and that includes engine starting, effects of controls right through to elementary climbing, straight and level and descending. Even basic radio procedures can be introduced in those first few sessions in the ground trainer.
Once the student steps into his first Cessna 172, Warrior or the newer trainers on the market, the distractions inevitable in real flight are soon overcome and progress towards first solo is probably halved and at far less cost to the student. Paradoxically, that may be a problem since less cost to the student means less income to the flying school instructors. Reasons will then be dreamed up why students should avoid ground trainers; the most common excuse being students would forget to look outside during real flight. Opinions will vary, of course