hi Greg
great thinking about studying all the way to ATPL. It doesn't have to be exclusive to jet wannabe's.
It's expensive, but then again people spend more on fancy cars or package holidays !
They'll try to sell you lots of expensive kit and gear but there's no need for that. After all you'll be flying in 30 years old spam cans, so even if your CRP-1 isn't brand new, it'll still do the job
I got everything I needed on ebay for £ 5.00 (plus £ 5.00 postage) and that includes ground school books, an R/T manual, a whiz wheel and a chart of northern England !
I only had to buy an up to date version of the Air Law book, and a PPL confuser. The Aeroplane Technical book I got, despite its pages being yellow, still remains newer than the aeroplane I'm flying !
The confuser will help you optimise your studying time, handy esp if you work full time and have a family ! IO540 is spot on about it (as always!).
It would be great to know all the amendments to the ANO and the pink sheets off by heart, but it won't kill you if you don't.
Saving 200 quid and spending 2 extra hours with an instructor doing PFLs - that could save your life !
Have fun