During this protracted period, you should have saved enough cash to pay for the course due to the fact that you will have no spare time to sit in the pub swilling the Devil's Vomit. Get yourself a 45-gallon drum of Midnight Oil; swotting will become the norm.
Go on then, what are you waiting for?
Excellent advice HB, it applies to anyone thinking about a career that requires any kind of qualification. If you leave your prep until you have made the decision to leave then you've probably left it too late. In particular, for pilots and engineers, it is really quite simple; no licence no job.
I know it's a hackneyed saying, but I made two good decisions with respect to the RAF, joining and leaving.
Good luck to all contemplating the change, voluntary or otherwise.
YS