Guys,
Nim here..bloke who's going with weetabix(where's the name from? you're names Ludo! don't see the linke here!) in a couple of weeks, to return to the good life. NLM - I had Rob Achetel as my instructor too! Fantastic instructor, although once we came this close to a glider: our cessna glider, when we were doing a cross country to hemet.
Then on another day, both another of his students and myself were doing our first solo cross-country flights (no doubt the most nervracking time for an instructor). I came back safely albeit a bit late because i'd been chatting to the ATC controllers at palomar and hemet. But when i got back, there was still no sign of the other guy, who'd left hours before me.
It turned out that he'd gone over 30 miles astray because he'd tuned into the wrong VOR, then ran out of fuel at 9000ft, couldn't seem to get anyone over the radio and didn't know where the hell he was.
eventually some guy picked him up and pointed out that he was circling directly above some airfield.
So he lived for another day and got back to LGB 8 hours after departing.
Great story eh?!