That's interesting, about the "pretend" radio and controllers. I appreciate your post. I was lucky to have an initial flight instructor who understood how broke I was, and I spent many, many hours in the parked airplane, on the ramp, all tied down. I practiced checklists, and radio communication, and all the various things you can simulate for FREE. It was a huge help.
Fast forward.... In a lot of the fire training we do with new people, we use "simulations". They're exercises that start wtih "fake" fires and then work their way up to incredibly complex fires, bit by bit. Many "actors" are scattered out in the forest, all calling in and demanding that airplanes respond. Radios are congested, and broken, and garbled. People "get lost" and want us to help find them. "Helicopters" and "airtankers" all come hurtling into our airspace, all walking over each other (to add to the stress level for the poor FNG). They're incredibly realistic, and the guys who get the benefit of the "sims" do a much, much better job when we hit "the real world" a few months later.
So, I have come to really appreciate the value of that type of training. If it's done well, it's a huge help.
