princepilot,
you should listen to flingingwings he speaks the truth.
I know there are people around who just did the 45 hours but
you should budget for around 60 hours plus the extras mentioned.
never pay for blocks of hours in advance
2 hours a day 7 days a week is IMO a silly idea.
you need to keep up with the groundschool, otherwise you will end up with a break at the end of the course while you get all the exams done before the test.
full time in this context should be no more then 5 days a weeks 2 hrs/day and you will really have to read fast to keep up.
also in sept 07 you said
I live in stoke on trent, 29, a big lad (22 stone, but not all fat , lol), always wanted to fly , but dont have the money yet.
I believe all the prices quoted are on an R22, max seat weight of 240lbs (17"2)
my calculations suggest that you need to have lost 68lbs since then for this not to be academic, or budget for a R44 with a max seat weight of 300lbs, only 8 lbs to lose in that case !
I beieve you need to stop thinking about "minimums" and think about good and effective training, decisions on which will depend on what your intentions are in the longer term.
good luck
regards
CF