I did my basic flight training with a university flying club 5 years ago. The plane was an early 1980's C152 at $52/ hr, and instructors were $22/hr. This was before the big fuel hikes took place of course, but even a year or two ago I saw similar airplanes around for about $70/hr, and instruction around $30. Getting a private pilot ticket for $5-7 grand should still be possible. I believe EWF is correct that around 60 hours is the national average for a private pilot ticket.