Yorkshire Lad,. .. .I think I'm the PPL Irv refers to! (Just 'fine' huh?). .. .I did my PPL in under 5 weeks at the Algoa Flying Club which is in Port Elizabeth South Africa. The total bill including accomm, car hire, return flights, 52 or so hours dual/solo as required, plus some Night Rating prep, and a part conversion to a different (complex) aircraft for £3,500. That was when the Rand was at 10 to the pound! Superb training. Although I did not set out to do my PPL for career purposes I have found the bug! As Irv says the concersion to the UK was a sinch. The conversion to JAR/JAA etc is also quite simple, so I have my licence and can build up the hours (to 100) and add the JAA bit quite easily, or it can be done by sitting the UK exams before reaching 100hours with a flight test. I fly a low cost hour builder from Popham (C150) at £60.00 per hour - so I can take it at my own pace. As you are lumbered with a student loan this may suit you better than doing the whole lot at once and you will be able to get in the saddle that much quicker. Good luck though - and I hope you find an instructor / mentor who's as good as Irv - have a look at his web site - . .<a href="http://www.higherplane.flyer.co.uk" target="_blank">http://www.higherplane.flyer.co.uk</a>. .The Frequently Asked Questions bit is very handy.