Quote:
I had to fly to an airfield around 12 minutes away, meet the examiner there, carry out my skills test
Twelve whole minutes away! Why could the examiner not have come to you?
Twelve minutes for me to fly to him as the crow flies or an hour for him to drive to me and then an hour back. Not everyone owns their own aircraft, do they........
It should really be the examiner who travels though, it certainly is in the UK. If they're that fussed they invoice you for it, but it would still be cheaper than 24 mins flying time.
Sending students solo between exam pass and paperwork issue is a bit of a legal grey area, but it really shouldn't be. The candidate has just passed his test, likely at the peak of their currency and knowledge. Is the best thing for them really to sit about not flying for 4-6 weeks waiting on a bit of paper, after which they are perfectly entitled to take 3 other souls with them into the air. It's far better if they are able to keep their newly learnt skills fresh and current, under the supervision of an instructor and still solo, and the insurance companies really need to get on board with this.