We soloed a young man this weekend his first day but he had be using a sim for about a year. He is flying a trainer but will move up to a 4* soon. By using a trainer he soloed sooner and after another day of flying he may be flying on his own so he can get more flight time in not having to watt on help. We like to use high wing semi-symmetrical trainer 60 size like the Hobbistar 60. You could learn on a 4* but would take longer to solo. Gary