Hi T18,
Tell your nephew not to bother with the PPL. A couple of years ago, when visiting the Farnborough Air Show, I got into conversation with an instructor at the joint services aircrew training establishment. I asked him about the value of a PPL to a pilot entrant into the RAF/FAA/AAC. He told me that a PPL only gives a student pilot an advantage for about the first 30 days of training. After that, his non-PPL classmates will have caught up with him. So, bearing in mind the huge cost of a PPL, it would be a very high price to pay for just 30 days advantage. What would be much more worthwhile for your nephew to do, would be to take the RAF aircrew pre-selection tests, which he can do before actually joining up. (Your original post doesn't mention whether he has done this or not). It is quite possible, for example, that he might pass, but not for pilot; he might pass for navigator or air electronics officer, in which case his PPL will be of no help to him whatever. Alternatively, he might fail altogether on something that cannot be corrected, such as eyesight standards, then at least he will know that he will have to look to some other career in the RAF, perhaps as in air traffic controller, engineer officer, or whatever.
Regards,
BP.