Paul,

I finished my PPL in February of this year. I've been a MSFS user for MANY
years. I've even had Fly! and X-Plane. If you are just starting your PPL,
I would recommend staying away from flight simulator for the time being.
Yes it sure does help with learning what the instruments are and what they
do. But you are mainly looking at the instruments in MSFS or any other FS.
In real life you will be learning to fly by looking out the window. Real
life flying is multi-dimensional experience. You'll find that a 1977 Cessna
172 N model outperforms the 172SP in FS. Landing in FS is nothing like it
is in real life. The two handle totally different.

Now on the other hand. MSFS is good for practicing instrument procedures.
I find it useful for practicing intercepting OR radials. Another thing it's
good for is flying to another airport that you'll be flying to in real life.

You might want to consider looking at rec.aviation.student also. A lot of
helpful people in there.

Just my thoughts.
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL
"It's a license to learn."
"Paul Miller" wrote in message
...
I'm starting flying lessons this week, and I'd like to have an accurate
simulator to practice with as well. I currently have FS 2004, CH pedals,
and a Saitek stick/throttle, and I'm looking to get a CH yoke.

I just found out about x-plane and understand it has a very good flight
model. I'll probably be practicing mostly in a C172, so I'd like the
best 172 simulator I can find.

Any thoughts?

For those of you who always thought about going for a license, I started
a blog (http://www.myflightjournal.com) to record my experiences for
friends/family. You are welcome to visit.