I've never felt "really prepared" for any type ride. Spirit was no exception, and I couldn't have studied any harder along the way.

The FTD's aren't perfect, but they do help get an understanding for the procedures and profiles, as well as the systems.

The sims aren't perfect, but I've never flown a sim that I thought flew "exactly like the airplane." These are pretty good. Landings in the sim are have never been fun or all that accurate for me.

Overall, it's an intense, fast-paced program with great instructors. It's a ton of work, but airline initial is NEVER easy.