Thank you, it's all so confuddling. I did ask if I could do the 5 hours as part of my PPL. My understanding is that this used to be doable, but they've now changed the rules, but I could be wrong
I may do the dual stuff then as hopefully the physical license will come through by the time I've done my few hours dual, though I suppose there's no guarantee. I expect I should get it by the new year, but from what I've heard about the CAA, it could be the new year of 2018 before I see it... It does seem to be a very poorly organised outfit. The DVLA, (who I admit are almost certainly much better funded) have to deal with hundreds of applications every day and get them turned around usually within a week or two. It'd be interesting to see how many applications the CAA receives in an average day. My guess would be no more than 10?
I think I'll wait for my license to physically come through before I even ask about doing the solo stuff, although again, I suppose it's only really the cross country that requires you to hold the license as the ATO will know you're able to fly solo and have passed all the tests etc? Also, I know they're very different, but with a driving license, you can use your test pass certificate as proof you hold a license until the photocard comes through. Could you, in theory, use the equivalent test pass certificates to exercise your privileges before the physical document comes through?
A lot of questions there, I hope it all makes sense. Thank you all for your input.