Computer flight sims are definately more difficult than flying the real thing!!
How many of you have been asked to show your licence for scrutinisation on offer of a flying position?? I haven't been asked to show it ONCE! I have a forged one which is useful for photocopies to stick in the training file; bit of typex for the the renewal at the CAA and no-one is any the wiser.
I did a PPL and then decided that the whole ATP thing for another 150 hours odd seemed like too much hard work.
I searched the internet, and then made telephone back up enquiries, to find an operator who had gone out of business, operated the right plane, and where the chief pilot was no longer contactable. I doubt any contact was attempted anyway, from what I have found out subsequently.
I decided what I wanted to fly was a Dash 8; if I knew what I knew now I would have chosen a 737, but there you go.
I obtained an operating manual on the Dash 8 and studied my but off over 3 weeks. I also got a Dash 8 download and flew this for about 20 hours.
The next bit was the interviews, not much sweat since I only had 1,250 hours on the Dash 8 as co-pilot!!! HO, ho. They weren't expecting too much and I was up to speed on on the relevant ICAO annexes on take-off gradients, single engine ops etc.
Got the job and here came the check ride. Not such a sweat as I hadn't flown for seven months (that is when the company went down). Hell, the cockpit was very different from my PA28 and MS2000!! I sweated a bit but was amazed that the training captain was so helpful that I needn't have worried!! Anything I hesitated over, I was told what to do.
After the first abominable landings it all came together. Hell, it isn't that hard.
Pushing two years on and I have 2,900 hours odd (well, minus the phony bit), and am up for command.
Yip, I have the ATP (wonderful what computers can do, and beats sitting the exams) and I'll bet $1000 against 10c that nobody ever asks to look at it.
Yes, flight sims are great but are very much harder than flying the real thing - take it from me. For terrorists I reckon they are a dead loss, but for getting a job on the fly....just great!!