PPL IR Workload
Flying Dutch,
I did the IR exams as I'm a PPL and no wish for a commercial ATPL. I think the 7 IR papers are about half the ATPL syllabus.
I did them in 2 sittings and prepared for about 2 months for each. GTS reckon on 300 hours total plus a compulsory (and really really good) 5 day consolidation course for each of the 2 sittings. I think I probably did a few hours less than this, but not much. I did it pretty much full time, as it's very difficult to do more than 5 hours a day full time or 1-2 hours a day if working.
It's a minimum of 55 hours sim/flying for ME. You can take it SE, and upgrade later. SE, I'm told, is significantly easier. I took longer than the minimum as I'm not the youngest nor most talented pilot. It is very demanding, and rewarding, and stops being fun when the pressure grows.
I did the flying full time. This involved a couple hours briefing, planning etc plus a couple of hours flying per day and you come back exhausted. So it takes 6 - 8 weeks minimum. This depends on whether you pass first time (I didn't).
Is it worth it? Well I'm glad I did it. It was my attempt to conquer my personal Everest. Is it sensible for a weekend PPL? No. Do you want to be sensible all your life?
PM me if you'd like more details.