Can a good Flight Simulator X player land a real Boeing 777 safely?
Depends on the what the “good FSX” player is flying in FSX. If you mean a “good FSX player” using the out-of-box planes? Not a chance! If you mean a “good FSX player” using 99.9% of the planes that are available? - Not a chance! If you mean a “good FSX player” who flys with something like REX for Weather, PFPX and TOPCAT for flight planning, one of the top 00.1% scenery options that uses photo realistic scenery, and is flying the PMDG 777, has read and knows the documentation (all 1500 pages or more of it), plans each flight using PFPX and TOPCAT like they are planning a real flight, uses ATC as well as in-air control, and finally has invested a significant amount of money into the cockpit, MAYBE. I have a little over $2500 in my cockpit instruments and I just have the basics (yoke, pedals, dual radios, flight director, etc.) and I definitely wouldn’t want to be behind the real controls of a plane. I can always hit the “p” button in the FSX if I miss something in my flight plan and don’t get it quite right. You can’t do that in a real 777 (obviously).So It really depends on what planes they fly and how seriously they fly them. There is a Dash-8 by Majestic Software which is designed for actual pilot training. The plane alone is about $500.00 USD and requires that you have a cockpit layout which is pretty close to the real thing. I have the version which is aimed at civilians and, while I can fly it, I actually find the 777 easier since I don’t have to worry about the props.So, I definitely wouldn’t WANT to fly one of these planes in an emergency, but the right FSX person could fly them.