Well, I slogged my way through Flight School yesterday and today. I say “slogged” because there was a lot of stuff I had to figure out on my own, especially with regards to the controls and occasionally the terminology. I got stuck a number of times, but eventually figured things out. (Enough to pass the tutorials, anyway.)
I did NOT feel ready for my first solo flight, with navigation. And on my first attempt I couldn’t figure out my heading so I eventually circled back around and landed at the same airport where I started. My teacher praised me for the landing but scolded me for flying in a big circle and made me restart.
On my next attempt I finally thought I had a handle on the navigation, but it was really just guessing on my part. I was pretty sure I was heading in the right direction but honestly just felt lost. I kept hoping to see an airport in the distance and eventually I did. But was it the right one??? I landed successfully and got my virtual wings! Yay me!
I decided to set off on my own next so I started in Seattle, Washington (where I used to live) and chose Portland as my destination. I forgot to check the time before starting and it was the middle of the night. To make matters worse I had NO IDEA how to turn the lights on in my plane, inside or outside. Then, it took me forever to get the trim right and by the time I did I was halfway to Canada. But I found the VFR map and then got turned around.
It also took me awhile to realize that the air traffic control guys were talking to ME. It was like a different language but I figured out how to respond and was able to pick up a tiny bit of the lingo. The flight took 39 minutes but I DID make it to Portland where I landed the plane successfully… AT NIGHT no less.
Feeling pretty happy (and a bit sweaty) right now. Time for bed. 
NOTE: The game crashed on me once. Had some occasional low FPS moments. On one restart during Flight School the cockpit looked like a Salvador Dali painting. Other than that, though, no major issues… other than there being a LOT of stuff that isn’t explained very well.
