Flight Training in Poland
 

I know there are detractors of training in Spain and real issues such as lack of NDB's, though training in Poland is also a consideration with Bartolini and Adriana being two FTO's currently on the block. I'd appreciate feedback either here or private from anyone who has taken this route - quality of instruction is the most important aspect though all other factors are of interest.

Well, there's more than Bartolini and Adriana. I run a school myself so I won't recommend any particular, but make sure that the school operates in winter as many suspend their operations when the snow falls. The IFR approaches are free and I never heard of any "pattern fee" in Poland. Most FTO's also don't charge separately for landings at the base airport so the prices are more straightforward. Quality of training is tough to measure, there's a Polish forum here :
Szybowce.Com - Grupy dyskusyjne - ava.samoloty
but please be warned, we call it "tiny hell"
Expect prices for basic single engine (C152,C172 etc.) between 450 and 650 PLN, complex (PA28, C177RG) between 650 and 900 PLN and multiengine (PA34 etc.) between 900 and 1300 PLN. The down payment could be tempting, but as recommended in this thread : http://www.pprune.org/professional-p...ol-tricks.html , I'd recommend that you exchange your money and pay as You fly. When I did my training it was a common practice that student paid about 20% upfront, then in flexible instalments as the course went and the final payment was made once the training was finished and after the payment confirmation was provided I recieved the written confirmation of training from the school. Hope this helps.

PPL(A)/ATPL(A) exam statistics by school
 

If some of you consider training in Poland, have a look at a Polish CAO website - Urz?d Lotnictwa Cywilnego - Statystyki Komisji Egzaminacyjnej

At the end of the page you can find 2 links to exam statistics for 2012. Hope that helps you to make a decision. Look at the average score and successful attempt rate. This way you will see who goes for quality and who goes for quantity.

I did my CPL and ME-IR training in January with Bartolini and I'm really satisfied with them. Base airport is Lodz EPLL, which is fully operational during the winter, because the airport is used by Ryr and Wizz.