Hi Step Turn, picking up your quote.. 'and sims and models cannot help the new pilot.'
I think it depends upon what you will learn from an early apprenticeship, even if it is only knowing what all the bits are called is useful. Also any aero-modeller who has ever glued his fingers together with superglue, will know why you put the Tailplane on with 2-3 degrees less angle of incidence than the Mainplane. He will also know that ailerons can have differential to cure adverse yaw.
I was intrigued by one simmer, who said he regularly flew a 747 from LHR to GFK in real time on his set-up, relying on the auto-pilot whilst he got on with other tasks around the house.
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