Flight-Simulator Enthusiasts Confident of Real-World Skills

Last year, two million units of vehicle-simulation games for PCs and consoles were sold world-wide, the most common being flight simulators, according to the market-research firm NPD Group. Josh Edgar, a 25-year-old technology consultant who lives in Dallas, recently spent about $500 on a flight-simulation setup. He said that when he was in grade school, an airline pilot let him briefly step into the cockpit. "Seeing all the lights and switches definitely piqued my curiosity," he said. Howard Penley, a recently retired United Airlines captain, said passengers who once toured his flight deck often would remark on the complexity of all the buttons and dials.