Hi CliffordFW,
There's a wealth of old posts on a lot of the stuff in the 'sticky' at the top of the page, but as I'm in a charitable mood...
- Don't know what the hours requirement is off the top of my head, but to be honest whatever it is it's only academic. Pick a number and double it for the hours you spend awake at night imagining a giant wizz-wheel.
- Distance learning courses justify the hours you do by setting a number of tests along the way, which in theory to pass you must have studied for an average of X hours. They will undoubtedly have you in a classroom too, I believe there's a min number of classroom tuition hours but stand to be corrected. BGS's website outlines the course so I won't replicate that.
- CPL first or IR first; do a quick search and you'll see this one has been battled out countless times. Read through and see what you think.
- CPL include the ME rating? Depends on the FTO I suppose. Requirements for the CPL include a complex type - this could be retractable gear/wobbly prop. Download a copy of LASORS 2007 from the CAA website, requirements are in there. You can do a CPL and Multi, with the CPL test done on the multi - this extends the 25hr CPL to 28hrs. It's all in LASORS though.
Regards,
A38