Yes it is necessary to have atleast a few flying hours on simulator. It is so because you never know how your plane is going to respond although it has been made upto the mark... Simulator helps to have a better control on aircraft and then later on you could even practice various other maneuvers and stunts without a loss.
You could use any of the simulators available on different stores. Do not forget to check whether it has a combination for the jack in your TX.
Check on
www.quadkopters.comThis is costing for 675/- very good. contains all the cables and software too. Almost all the sims available give the software too.