Originally Posted by simguy

Suppose I should give my pence to the original post before shamelessly advertising. My first question to any flight school/CFI is how long to solo? 20 hours, tops. If they say it depends on the individual then leave. Students fail because of poor instruction, full stop. My other question would be how much the sim is utilized. Most will say not at all for pre-solo/private. I use to solo students in the A36 Bonanza for an international carrier. These kids didn't even know how to drive a car. This was accomplished in less than 20 hours and I believe it was due to utilizing a sim throughout the training. 2 sim sessions for every flight from the very beginning until commercial. I believe most flight schools don't utilize or don't know how to utilize the sim. The other big factor is CFI "time builders" don't want to be in a sim. In the right hands the sim is a scalpel knife that will get amazing results. If you are ever in the PHX area give me call (simtime.net). More shameless advertising. If your in the N.W. checkout "ONE G." They are the only simulator center for GA pilots that I know of. Good luck.