WWW
Then why is it that the CAA allow more hours to be completed on a realistic sim as part of training?
When this thread had gone unanswered for a while I spoke with our sim instructor about the issue, knowing he was going to great efforts to make the sim realistic. What I posted is my interpretation of his comments, as a former CAA examiner with some 30-odd years experience as a flight instructor. Remember that all students move from sim to aircraft. Schools I have trained at and worked for have aircraft for IR training configured almost identically (less so for CPL aircraft, as it is less important). If the sim is identical too then the conversion is easier.
Mad_Jock
You should be logging your sim time as well. Which "others" were you comparing the prices with? Remember some published prices include less than maximum sim time, so can be reduced if you change the course structure.