It's not just "look ma' no engines", it's "oh, so a brick CAN fly."
With a glide ratio of 0.8:1, it really is just falling. Heck, even an F-16 has a better glide ratio (about 0.98:1). 80,000+ pounds of falling shuttle is interesting to fly. Flown both one of the real Shuttle sims and also the ones they have out for the public at Johnson Space Center, and impressively, they handle about the same, and both I crashed more than once when I first attempted to land them. It's not as easy as Virgin's Shuttle! makes it seem, but the Rate Control Law system that the shuttle uses is definitely nice since all you do to stop it's movement is let go of the stick and it holds whatever attitude you've put it in.
BTW, if you get the chance to try them, the public simulators at JSC feature
John de Lancie (aka "Q" on Star Trek) narrating. He's got some pretty funny quips when you crash.
