[smuzz]

Kev has wrapped up the whole scene for you quite nicely there - all good.

I have 2 new questions now.......

A few of the replies have touched on physics. When you mean physics are you talking about physics of flight in general or models in particular? Is it a case that FMS is going to teach me essentially "dont be a ham-fisted lump" and not much more?

With "physics" we're basically referring to the mathematical models being used to represent the planes, the wind-gusts, the laws of motion ... the whole simulated world. If it's a convincing representation of what you experience when you are on the sticks for real, then you're more readily going to engage with it when you're at home on your computer and you'll happily spend hours immersing yourself in a pseudo life-like activity which isn't a waste of time. Naturally, the simulator will save you hundreds (perhaps thousands) of dollars but none of them are indistinguishable from flying a real model of course. Even though I've fiddled with the wind settings on Phoenix in every conceivable way for example, I've never been able to get it to behave just like it does at our flying field - but that isn't really the point. What a simulator does is allow you to wire up new neural pathways between your eyes and your thumbs so that when you see a model doing something you don't like, you can reach for a correct response automatically without having to consciously think everything through.
Yes, FMS will teach you how to avoid being a ham-fisted lump (that's quite a good summary of it) - and for that you can be very thankful. However, the better the simulator the more fun you have and the more readily you'll pick up what you need.