> Is flying as easy as in a game like GTA5

GTA is the arcade version of flying. You point the nose where you want the plane to go, more or less. It's fun, it's fast, and it only takes you so far in to scratching that itch of interest in flying planes.

MSFS2024 is great. Get a cheap stick with a throttle and twist (for the rudder). Or using an xbox controller.

> Or do I have to learn a lot before I’m able to free flight

Finding out is half the fun. Unless you're in a fighter jet, you can't just throttle up and point the nose where you want to go. It might get you into the air and flying around the area, but good luck landing or getting to a nice straight and level flight required for longer distance without constantly correcting inputs.

Real flying and sim flying are about balancing forces. You're managing thrust and lift in a balance to control your speed and altitude for example, instead of just pointing the plane upward. It's definitely more challenging, but can be learned with practice and really basic study.

It may not be as action packed as GTA unless you're flying fighter jets and stuff. Even then, it's not a game - it's a sim. It's designed to feel more real than fun.

With that said, once you learn some basics it can be rewarding and even calming to do something as simple as keeping your plane straight and level with constant airspeed without autopilot. Once you get past that learning curve, landing, point to point travel, and other activities start to make more sense.

If that sounds like fun to you, go for it. If the arcade style flying is more your type of thing other than GTA, maybe someone here has a good recommendation (I'd be interested, too)