ORIGINAL: GTac01
Worked for me, who soloed 6 days after getting airplane, trained in sim for a week...
Simulators are a great asset, but there's nothing like the real thing.
GTac01 has a habbit of making himself sound like a superhero. Here's a quote from his "Solo":
I started that thing in one turn, full throttle just before a mound of bricks I lift it up like a wall, and there it was flying, I slowed it to half throttle, made some tight turns, got the plane towards me (its a habit i learned with the sim...) and behind me was the car. My dad got scared and told me to LAND NOW!, i was like holly CRAP!!, the plane went just over the car, ALMOST into a palm tree, and i put throttle to low, did 4 turn, going up and down, in circles (over the lot) until it got slower, then landed it flat parallel with the ground across the street of the lot, and it barely hit a tree which stopped the little cone of the propeller . My dad and cousin were amazed, cant beleive it, and the plane intact.
So while they are a big help, don't expect miracles.