This thread has kicked up some interesting points, so I'd like to throw my situation into the mix.
I'm currently doing my PPL, and have about 20 hours logged. I've not gone solo yet, as I'm not 16 until March. August next year, we are going on holiday to Vegas & Miami. An idea was we, instead of doing a company tour of the GC, we could hire an aircraft with an instructor and let me fly up. I know that it's not possible to do this without an instructor, but is it actually possible at all? I know I did this in Barbados, after about 5 hours (!), but I'm unsure of the US regulations.
If I do solo in March/May, I will have a medical, and a lot more hours too. Will this make me eligible to take my parents, and an instructor, sightseeing over the GC?