Hackett,
Welcome to PPRuNe. Thanks for a great post. Judging by your perseverence and experiences, you'll do well.
One of the things I found when I first started instructing in gliders, was that I learned far more from the experience of teaching others, than possibly my students learned from me!
...none of my mates are interested in hearing all the details...
I remember when I first started flying, I would tell people that I was a pilot and they would say "That's interesting" when in fact they weren't interested.
However, on PPRuNE, you will find you have a lot of new "mates" who
are interested in your experiences, even if you've never met them!
I've only met five PPRuNers in 12 years, but I have been flying with two of them.
