The time to learn is in the multi-million dollar full flight simulator under the tutelage of a competent simulator instructor
I sort of agree but having flown in five different level-D 777 sims in the last couple of years, I’ve come to the conclusion that they are good for technique, yes, but to really build confidence there’s still nothing like the real thing. Unless your particular sim hits the sweet spot.
There were significant differences between all five: in one every touchdown felt like you’d collapsed the gear and in another whatever you did produced a greaser.
It’s sounds OK to tell people that everything they did was right but if the last thing they remember was a bang and a crunch, it doesn’t do much for confidence, whatever the instructor might say.
A
really good instructor can talk their way though flying a demo with the other guy watching and feeling. I rarely see trainers do this and although sim time is precious and should be used by the trainee, every once in a while having something demonstrated by someone in the other seat can be highly educational.