Hi. I intend to buy a mini 3 pro. I have never flown a drone before so I thought I'd download the Dji simulator app and familiarise myself with the controls before experimenting on a brand new drone. I'm so glad I did as I have a lot of learning to do.

I would love feedback from others regarding:

1 how similar is the real thing to flying on the simulator (I'm using onscreen joystick on iPad).
2. Is it advisable to change the default control layout.  (I really struggled flying with height and rotate on the left so I choose layout 3 with left being forwards, backwards left and right. This is more intuitive to me but I'm afraid of getting used to that if the mini 3 pro won't allow this.

My flying ability on the simulator falls far short of being capable to control a real drone but I do see improvement every time I practice.

Better than a simulator is to fly the real thing.
It's easier than you imagine.
Just make sure you are in a large, open area, well away from trees, buildings, cables etc.
When there's nothing to hit, it's very hard to get into trouble.

Stick with the default stick controls,   they are much easier in real life to control.   Just make sure your first flight is in a large open space and you take your time.    Oh and ensure the GPS him point is set before take off,