It would have been more well-rounded and universally accepted if it did anything to actually help you learn to fly.
The graphics are impressive even years after the initial release, the damage model is accurate, and the physics are the pinnacle of realism. Even with all of this going for it, it seems it will turn off all but the most hardcore of flight simulator fans. In many ways the realism just kills the fun for the more casual of gamers. Clearly it wasn't aimed at the casual player in any way, but some automation would have made it much easier to play.
Other simulation games, such as racing sims, provide automatic controls for their finer points. Not so with IL2. You can turn off the realistic engine controls, but the automation of prop pitch, radiator position, and other complex controls never seems to help you out and you will just get left in the dust by the AI pilots who have full control over these mechanisms. They could have at least explained when to use these controls. The community for the game is active but the fact that you need to rely on the community speaks poorly of the game in my opinion.
While it is a great game, I think it would have been more well-rounded and universally accepted if it did anything to actually help you learn to fly within its highly realistic flight model. A few pre-recorded tracks with vague instructions simply doesn't cut it for most of the gaming community, and I'd even go so far as to say a lot of this game would even go over the heads of serious flight sim fans. It's just that realistic and that brutally short on direction.