Vagabond,

As I recall, we had to solo the T-41 (Cessna 172) in less time than that. Of course, there were mitigating factors: 1) The instructors made no more money by giving a student extra rides. 2) There was a plentiful supply of students and a T-37 class scheduled to start on a certain day, so they washed out guys who would surely have soloed given a little more time. 3) I think they skipped lots of instruction that a civilian student would get -- FARs, navigation, etc.-- concentrating on just the basics.

So it probably wasn't the same course that you're taking, but it was a real solo, followed by a dunking in a cow tank full of green, slimy water.