1 43 hours (the old 45 hour course) - I had to do another couple of hours after the GFT to qualify.
2 One attempt.
3 18 months (Oct 80 to April 82).
4 Very weather-dependent. Local club, about once a fortnight, weather permitting.
5 17.
6 The flying, definitely. Writtens were not a problem (apart from having to learn all that boring air law that I've never needed again, such as average passenger weights for W&B in aircraft with more than some number of seats).