Hi Ad,
Nothing like throwing your girlfriend in at the deep end!! I hope she enjoyed it but just remember to feed her with a few Vodka and cokes on the Oz flight.. It'll help loose a few hours
With regards to my flying lessons, I am definitely planning to stick with the same instructor as much as possible. He is also the CFI at Thruxton so he'll be marking my exams and skill tests!
Unfortunately its costing £132 per hour inc VAT (wet) but that seems to be around the going rate. I could have taken my flying instruction at Popham in a C42 for a much lower hourly rate (£80ph) but that would only get me my NPPL rating and the C42 is officially a microlight. I really like the idea of getting additional ratings at some point in the future when I have got the PPL and a few hours under my belt so the NPPL was a no go...
Cheers,
Steve