The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is part of a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created on December 14, 1782 by the Montgolfier brothers. Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than just being pushed along by the wind are known as airships or, more specifically, thermal airships.

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_bal...

Simulators are made by companies like "CAE" or "Link" -
The type of certification you look for in a simulator is "Level D" -
Full motion, visual etc. -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_simu...

I was trained to become 747 captain in such a flight simulator "Level D" -
My training was completely done in such as simulator -
16 hours simulator time total - check ride of 90 minutes -
I received a 747 "type rating" without ever have flown a real 747 -
.
My first flight was a week later, New York JFK to Frankfurt in a real 747 -
I had some 300 passengers on board (not suspecting I was a new captain) -
My co-pilot was another captain, pilot instructor "just in case"...!

After 3 crossings New York to Europe and back, 3 landings, I was on my own -
My instructor shook hands... "So long, Skip, I got other guys to train...!" -

General aviation also have simplified simulators -
If I recall correctly, one manufacturer brand is "Frasca" -
http://www.frasca.com/

Flight sim for your PC or laptop are just games...
No training value whatsoever -

.
Chances are, candidates with a full degree (plus licences) are likely to be preferred, rather than applicants without a degree and same licence -

Emirates or Qatar are air carriers requiring thousands of hours + jet experience -
What will you do with your 500 hours Cessna 172 flight time and no degree...?

Not on one I was flying!

Pilots need to be able to concentrate on getting you to your destination safely, playing "Thunderstruck" or "Dirty Deeds" at full noise would not help that!

You might think that as owner of a private jet, you are the boss, but not so.

Up there, even Bill Gates or Warren Buffet do what the Captain tells them, or face the consequences. (But we do tell them very, very nicely)!