I learned on the simulator and have seen other people that have done the same and if you get good with the sim it does teach you things like orientation and control inputs and just how to get over the nervousness. on the sim i alway worried about dead stick landings i would practice them a lot and got very good at it . IMHO learn on the sim and fly the trainer there are planes that might help but the trainer is as the name implies a trainer, eventually the trainer will get crashed then you can learn how to fix a plane, everyone goes though this learning curve and it's nice to have someone to help but you will have to learn how to do it. things you cannot learn on the sim are engine tuning, safety, trouble shooting, field etiquette. learing on the sim nothing is certain i've seen people do it this way and i've seen people that are using instructors that are still on the buddy box three years later, i saw a guy at the field that was trained by a flight shool and had soloed and he came to the field and crashed after one pass around the field, he became disoriented and rolled it into the runway right in front of me (the closest crash I've ever seen). however you do it have fun and Good luck.