Most of the guys I fly with are in their forties and it has taken them a year or so
YIKES!
I started when I was 43 and learned in about 5 weeks. Or more accurately, about 15 to 20 flights. And I didn't have a simulator at the time.
vtol-guy,
It's going to vary from club to club, and between different instructors. Have you done stall turns? (Which demonstrates some understanding of how the rudder works.) Can you loop and roll?
Once you've done some take-offs, and if your club and instructor are anything like mine, I'd guess your 3 to 4 more flights might be accurate if you said yes to the above. (And plant those landings each time.
)
Dennis-