unicate wrote:

Having worked at a flight school, 80 hours is *not* uncommon or unusual;
40 hours is possible, but is *not* the norm

It also depends on to what standards they teach. Are they happy to teach
you to the point to barely pass the checkride? Or do they want to make
you a safe pilot? Are they happy when you can somehow bring down the
plane on that 10'000 ft runway or do they expect a point landing where
you touch down within, say, 100 ft of the defined point each time? Do
they throw in a lesson of developed spin recovery and an introduction to
mountain flying? etc. etc.

Stefan