I agree with the others about the definition of "solo". Most people seem to use it to indicate their first flight where they took off, flew around some, and landed, without the instructor ever taking his finger off the trainer switch. That's an OK definition, but it doesn't really indicate a whole lot in terms of proficiency. Maybe the wind was absolutely calm, and the landing was lousy, and it wasn't near the runway, but you "soloed"!

To me, "solo" means when you are comfortable flying alone with your plane, in modest winds of any direction, and you can put the plane down at pretty much exactly the spot you want it to land on almost every time. Ray Smith, of [link=http://www.hobbiesaloft.com/oursecret.htm]Hobbies Aloft[/link] says "Research has shown that the average newcomer will need to accomplish 400 to 600 dual instruction landings and/or touch-and-goes in order to demonstrate competency." I don't know what his research is, but I tend to agree with him.

For me:
How many flights: about 125
How many gallons: 4
Which plane: U.S. Aircore
Simulator: Not much. I found the real training to be much more fun.