Moggy, I think that misses the point. Those of us commenting in this thread are flying for leisure purposes – Sandy would be going about things in a different way if he was intent on life as a commercial pilot.

Skymonster,

I currently fly ‘for leisure purposes’, but I also intend to take my CPL exams in the next few years and eventually go on to get an instructors rating. And that’s the extent of my commercial flying ambitions. I’m doing it differently to how a young wannabe bus driver would do it, but that’s because I want different things, and have a different set of circumstances. There’s no right or wrong way per se, just right and wrong ways for the individual concerned.

Moggy’s point still stands though, regardless of what the individual’s long term ambitions may be; getting the PPL completed isn’t the end of it, not by a long chalk. It’s just the beginning. If you’re a pilot at any level you’ll already know that to keep your JAA PPL current, you have to fly 12 hours in months 13-24. I do appreciate though that not everyone can afford to fly every week (and the weather in the UK is such that it’s unlikely anyway). Personally, I aim to fly once every 2-3 weeks, which gives about 20 hours per year.

Steve