Greetings all...New to the forum but not new to flying. I am 51 yrs old and and am looking to get my Light Sport License. Lil about myself. Not a pilot yet but have rode in and flown a 61 Piper Colt, 2013 Cessna 172 and a 79 Piper Archer II. I Feel like I have the basics down so do not consider myself a total newbie. Here are my questions. There is 1 flight school in Peoria, IL that SP trains in a 46 Champ. Their rates are reasonable and they are about 30 min drive. My next options will be to drive 2 hrs to Chicago area where I found 3 LSA Pilot schools. 1 school trains in Cessna Skycatcher, the other two train in Evektor Sportstar

Option 1 Stay local and fly in 46 Champ (taildragger)

Option 2 drive 2 hrs and fly modern LSA (tri-gear)

Looking for advice on which platform would be better to learn on. (Old Champ) vs (Modern LSA)

Lastly the owner of one of the Chicago schools tried to telling me it would take 60 hrs to get my SP license even though the FAA min is 20??? I told him I knew 20 was on the low number but his estimate of 60 was high. Can you experienced pilots enlighten me on how many hours would be reasonable to obtain SP?

Thanks All!!