wbryce,
I already have my PPL,night etc, Class 1 and 190 hours, sadly that wasnt even enough for the bank to give me an appointment!
Im sarting my ATPL's F/T beginning of April at GCNS, I was hoping to get the pro studies loan to fund the course(+living costs). The deferred payment would have suited me fine for my 12 months career break from work. Im hoping to lease the flat which will cover the mortgage. My equity is to pay for CPL/IR and MCC. Hopefuly I wont have to borrow anything more than 8k for the ATPL's(we'll see' i hear everyone say!!).
As a plus, I gained over a 100 hours towing gliders at a local gliding club, didnt cost a penny(apart from a tailwheel rating)! We currently have at least 4 tug pilots at the club who have no gliding experience at all, basically local PPL's who turned up asking if they could fly the tug. We all average around 30 - 40 hours a year out of it(and flying a chipmunk too, great fun!). My advice to all pilots out there, get out and knock on a few doors, you never know what might turn up! I now have 2 very good airline contacts out of it too, which is always a help!
Having gone the modular route, and the bonus of free hour building, i've saved myself literally thousands and thousands of pounds compared to integrated(I'll take my chances on the job market!).I have to agree with Markflyer6580 too, property is the only sure thing to invest your cash in. My flat went up almost 30k in the last 2 years!
Happy flying!!