There is a similar thread current on the Flight Instructors thread, and there are several good posts as to the reasons for apparently 'rip-off' times-to-solo in fixed wings.
Of interest to readers of pprune might be my experiences with tailwheel endorsements.
(1) Worst 'time' to solo t/w - 15 hrs and gave up.....there was no way this person could keep straight!!
(2) Best time to solo t/w - 1hr, he was a 5000 hr station pilot with lots of PVT mustering
Now I've seen several people really battle with the directional control and the crosswind operation of taildraggers - but once they got there -they were as good, if not better, than those who breezed it in under 3-4 hrs
But, and this was well discussed on the other thread, it appears to be a question of how many landings it takes, rather than the hours yardstick. If you learn in a busy environment, with circuit restrictions,and frequent crosswind limits, then it's bound to take longer than if the radio can be turned down,and there's nobody else using the same 250 acre paddock.
happy days,