And if it's any use, I know where there is a Frasca 142 you can use for getting your instrument flying up to scratch, and have an IRE mentor/instruct you. So although you would do the 30 hours "box-ticking" during your hour building, you could really get yourself up to scratch using the sim with an IRE giving you a grilling. Then when you turn up at an ATO, you should have a decent idea what you're doing, and not paying £160+/hr to get up to speed.