GarageYears brings up something I have been wondering about. In addition to time in less expensive simulators, how about time in actual less expensive aircraft? I have heard several people say that time spent in the smallest aircraft you can find, and maybe preferably gliders, is the best way to get the intuitive feel for the basics.
My only real flying has been in gliders, and it is all about energy management, which would seem to be equally applicable to engine-out situations. Ok, you aren't going to work thermals in an Airbus, but Captain Sullenberger said that his experience in gliders back at the AF Academy is what let him land his A320 in the Hudson river.