The value of chair-flying is real. I never heard of it prior to UPT. Take the pitch/power thing another step--get the power settings for your aircraft, then purchase a cockpit/instrument panel poster for your make/model. Then write down your sortie profile (takeoff, slow flight, ground ref maneuvers, etc.) Then "fly" the thing step-by-step in your mind from "before starting engines" to "after landing" with direct reference to your poster and your checklist. "Rote" may be the lowest level of learning, but it's a valuable thing. Is your actual flight gonna go just like your chair flight? No, but situational awareness can be improved by using less brain cells figuring "where" and "when" to look in the cockpit.