Hi Mazzy,
very interesting read
. Alot of the issues / experiences you have had, I've also had. I trained in the Tommy and now have 80 hrs, I gained my PPL last March.
Re the crosswind I tend to think of it as if it's 30deg off of the Runway then you get roughly half of wind component, if it's 45deg off you get roughly 3/4 off the wind component, at 60deg off I just call it full crosswind
i.e. Runway 23 wx 260/12, your cross wind would be 6kts,
Wish you all the best with your NAV work.
Apriana