So, to reiterate, yes, it can be very similar to flying in the real world. Realize there’s a lot of people here who have no idea what they’re talking about. And many others who do.
In some ways, flying in the real world is a lot easier than in the sim because you can feel what’s going on.
But, in other ways, flight sim can make you lazy, because, if you “get behind” the airplane, it’s no big deal. You can basically pull over to the side of the road and you’re ok. No such luck in the air.
I recently started flying again after a 19 year layoff. Having the sim was invaluable for practicing everything associated with flying. And MSFS really motivated me to get back up there. I’d been wanting to forever (I never wanted to stop), but, being in MSFS forced that switch.
The thing about hand flying for real at the GA level is there are a lot of tasks that need to be done simultaneously, and you can’t skip any. And you need to be prepared for each step ahead of time. So practice is very important. And for me, the GNS530 mod was invaluable practice for me as when I last flew, back then there basically was no GPS, so it was a whole new system for me to learn. And, like anything, it’s hard to know what you don’t know, so it’s hard to practice without knowing what to practice, so, there was some of that as well.
For instance, I’ve been using an EFB for years and years on my tablet, but, until I really got back into flying, I didn’t realize what I really needed to know about using it. But, having it available to use for in MSFS has been a godsend, once I knew what I needed to know.
I’m currently using Avare for Android. I’ll probably upgrade to Foreflight (iPad only) eventually, especially if I get into IFR flying again. I wrote up some directions on how to hook up Avare with MSFS here.