thanks again everyone,
All very insightful and encouraging. And thanks for going out on a limb GB!! I don't plan on making any big decisions based on replies from here but they certainly make me think a little harder about which direction to head.
eoc, i agree the lifestyle of an airline pilot wouldn't be all that dissimilar to a fly-in fly-out miner, the big difference being flying a jet about the place versus dumping rocks into a crusher (and crappy camp food for weeks at a time!)
Anyway, I'm enjoying all the feedback. I even let my wife read of all this so she could form some sort of opinion.
Thanks