Very interested in learning to fly...

[Amish RakeFight]

The one thing I recall instructing students who had "heavy" MS sim time tended to stare at the instruments 95% of the time.

During your initial training, keep in mind that most maneuvers you'll perform for the Private certificate are visual maneuvers. You should be looking outside as much as possible and refering to the instruments only occasionally. This is important for two reasons. One is that there's a lot of GA traffic at the lower altitudes and another is that the maneuvers are learned and performed visually. You'll find that you can hold altitude and heading much easier by picking out points on the horizon and maintaining the proper nose attitude.

In terms of training, my advice is to go part 61 and earn each rating and certificate with a different instructor and different airplane. This will help broaden your experience and confidence level.

Part 141 programs may be a little cheaper and structured, but a lot of them are plain old certifcate mills where you don't really learn much. YMMV of course, depending on the particular program.

Good luck and make the jump to a real pilot. I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[Grey Ghost]

I live in Chicago, but my family is split between here and the New Orleans area. Our trips to the Bahamas usually include about 6 or 7 people flying out of Louisiana. Last time we chartered a Falcon 20, and that was more than enough space...

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If you can afford to charter a Falcon 20, then who cares where you go?

 

[ALIMBO]

Well I can vouch for a lot of flight schools in Chicago used to work at a couple different places A&M being the better plus even if you have money to burn why waste it you will save at A&M.