Cape Flying Services
Alexander Webster Young has now heard three different judges in UK courts all tell him that his overall county court claim against Cape Flying Services/Naunton Pugh (UK & Europe agent) is fatuous, but he is still persisting in continuing with his action, which is now part-heard. It goes back to court on 9 June, unless he changes his mind.
The crux of the matter is this: For how many hours flight training did he pay, how many did he receive and if he did not receive the full number he paid for, why did he not receive them? The issue then moves on to this: if he is owed any money, how much and by whom?
All the three judges have told him that this is the only area of contention that will be judged upon.
The course he paid for was a 45-hour course. He flew around 33 hours, taking 32 hours to go solo (when the average pilot takes around 12 - 15 - shows just how good a student pilot he was). He knew he had only three weeks to do the flying and ground school (most PPL students at CFS go for four weeks) but yet he absented himself from CFS for the last two days he was supposed to be with them, going instead to Cape Town.
But he still has his original full claim, for something over Sterling £4,600, in place, claiming for such things as a return flight, car hire, sustenance, time taken off work etc, although in the original letter he wrote about it he states that, so long as he gets his deposit of Sterling £350 back, then he would settle for that. The sticking point there is that, unless a student fails the aviation medical, then the deposit is non-returnable.
These are the basic facts on which the judge will be making judgment.
Leaving aside all the spleen and invective Mr Young has posted on pprune, how would you judge the situation?
Naunton Pugh