How times and costs change. In the late 1950's my PPL cost 20 hours at £1.25 per hour in Tiger Moths plus a medical at £2.50 and an SPL plus PPL issue fee of £1.00 - Total of £28.50
Hour building to 100 hours P1 cost around £200.00
AFI course of 20 hours at £1.75 plus the GAPAN test fee of £5.00 totalled £40.00
Grand total abinitio to assistant flying instructor amounted to £268.50 or barely enough to buy a couple of hours in a spam can these days at one of the London area outfits.
Really enjoyed my 39 years of instructing and examining but I doubt if I would have started at all if prices had been at todays levels. Then I was earning around £8.00 per week so the cost was around 34 times my weekly income. With weekly wages now an average of say £250 the current cost might be around twice what it was back in 1960. Still a hell of an increase and one that really discourages those who wish to get a FI rating to help out at their local FTO at the weekends/evenings and holidays.
Trapper 69