Danny,
while I stand by my earlier posts re "the 10-hour thing" I think that we have to remember that there was a bit of a World War going on by the time you entered flight training and the pressure was really on to produce pilots. When Stanford Tuck was Ab Initio (Oct. 1935) things would have been less frantic, so I suppose, more leeway was possible.
Geoffrey Wellum in "First Light" says that if you had not soloed by 10 hours your instructor was changed in case personalities were coming into it. Wellum asked his instructor Mr Hayne to stay with him if possible because neither of them had a problem with each other. Wellum says that 16 hours and a last flight with the C.F.I. meant that it was all over. I wonder if the fact that they were all "Hofficers" made a difference also? Wellum soloed Sept. 1st 1939 - the war with Germany kicked off two days later.
Pointless as it is now, as my flying days are past, I still envy all you military types (like my late father soloed at 8.55 , instructor F/O Meretinsky June 1942) with your one instructor - one pupil regime (I in a civvy flight school experienced 4 very different teachers before solo). Does the diminished, modern R.A.F. still use the 10 hour chop?
Ian BB