thanks for your tips a and c! yeah i guessed the numbers would all be pie in the sky, but they came from my first day of researching the idea and the advice was ripped off the tinterweb!
got your pm, and it sure looks useful-cheers!
i think i will still be interested in some sort of group flying, but at the moment, more effort is going into getting my modular training sorted out!!
any other advice or ideas always welcome! [currently looking at spain and 'sarf offrika' for the early stages of flight training..]