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Regarding the Sport Pilot question, in brief, the minimum requirement for hours is 20 hours (15 hours of dual and 5 of solo), but most people will take longer (a least 30 hours) unless they are able to fly daily or at least 5x a week, and to study for the written along the way. Any Sport Pilot school you interview should be up front with you about that right off. If they're not, keep looking. Then there's a written test that will require study time in addition to the flight hours, and at an additional cost. Schools should factor this into their estimate, so be sure to ask if it is included in the total they give you...again, if they don't include it or at least outline extra costs outside of the flight training, shop elsewhere. At any rate, you're looking at around $3,000 if you achieve it in the minimum hours, so plan on spending more. Look at the hourly rates and that will give you the best comparison. If you can't afford an airplane alone, it's becoming very common for the schools to rent their LSAs to their certificated students (or any one who's a sport pilot) and if you want to share ownership in an airplane, it shouldn't be too much of a search to find others who would be interested. A good place to start asking around is where you end up training. There are people in the same position as you are right there in front of you! Good luck and have fun!