Rookies!

• An airplane is not and does not handle like a car.
• Setting takeoff power does not mean hamfisting the throttle to MAX.
• Turns out the barometer IS kind of important.
• Same with trim.
• The takeoff and landing runway is determined by the WEATHER, not which way you want to go or the direction you're coming from.

Specifically, back in the early days I couldn't figure out why the default Mooney (my favorite until I discovered the world of add-ons) would handle just fine on takeoff, but after awhile would start pulling to one direction and was nearly impossible to land, especially on longer flights.  I felt like an idiot when, after several months of hair-pulling, I discovered you had to switch between fuel tanks every ten minutes or so to keep it balanced in flight.

I'd also like to pay tribute to a couple 'vintage' items that really opened up my understanding and therefore my enjoyment of this hobby:

• Flight 1's Cessna 421C - This was my first payware aircraft and I was just amazed at how much more realistic and less frustrating it felt compared to the default offerings.  I'm sure I would have lost interest in flight simulation were it not for the 421C.  Instead, I started taking checklists and procedures more seriously and it's the first aircraft with which I became 'competent' at flying.

• FS Navigator - Invaluable to my understanding of navigating and approaches.  While it could be used like a GPS/FMS, I used it mostly for planning and would only call it up in-flight to verify my position when I thought I was lost.  With this tool, navigating became as much fun as flying.     

I'm sure I still make enough mistakes to make any real pilot cringe, but I also know I've come a long way since I picked up FS 98 all those years ago.