Bloody good idea.
There are various ways of staying over there. You can stay a year with a working visa but can only work for one company for upto 3 months although the rules can be bent depending on how scrupulous your employer is !! If you want to stay longer the try applying for a studying type visa ( I guess you have to enroll on a course to get this....does an ATPL count ? )which will give you another year at least. The visas can sometimes be extended aswell. Alternatively once you have your ATPL and want to work you can get 'sponsored' by your employer ( instructing I suppose ) and that will enable you to stay out there for a while longer.
To get a working holiday visa you need £2000 in the bank then go to Australia House with your passport and proof of your money and you can get it there.
Good time to go `cos the exchange rate is fantastic
.
Hope this helps.....please somebody correct me where I`m just spouting cr@p.
Cheers