> e.g. 30 hours still unable to get around the circuit safely and land ??
I was one of those. It took me 32 hours before going solo, nearly 100 hours to get ppl. I thought I was hopeless and wondered whether I was wasting my time and money. Just a slow learner I think because I perservered and got a CPL. When I spoke to the Chief Flying Instructor of my school about training to be an instructor I got a job offer on the spot, completed the training and now work as a flying instructor.
Some poeple take longer to pick things up than others but now I know not to write poeple off too early.