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A few weeks have passed since my last update, and I’m glad to say, most things are on track for leaving Luxembourg and heading to Sweden to start the CPL/MEIR(Commercial/Multi Engine – Instrument Rating).

Probably the most important thing I needed to do in the last few weeks, was renew my medical. The only problem I had here, was scheduling an appointment. Eventually, I got one and there was no hick-ups. Apparently, I’m not ready to croak it just yet.

Armed with the knowledge of my exemplary health, I figured, no major harm would be done having a few drinks, to celebrate leaving Luxembourg. I’m not much of a “everybody look at me” type, but it was great to get one last hurrah with the good friends I’ve made over the last three years here. So, we headed out had one or two beers, a nice chat and we were in bed before midnight, from what I can remember.

At the time of writing this, I’ve only a week to go till I’m on a plane from Dublin to Kalmar, via Stockholm. A flight that should work really well, pretty much dropping me at the door of the flight school and a couple of hundred metres from the on-site accommodation.

From then on, I’ve pretty much no idea how things will pan out. It hit me this week that, for the first time in about ten years, I’ll have no income. It will also be the first time that I’m able to completely focus on flying, without having any other commitments, such as a job. Something that I want to take as much advantage of as possible. 

One other issue that I’m pursuing, is if I can make a saving in the foreign exchange rate that I will be charged by the bank. At the moment, if I compare the inter-bank rates quoted on XE.com and the price quoted by the bank, for 199,000SEK(training cost) there is a difference of about 1,200EUR. I’m pretty confident that I can save, at least a couple of hundred euro, in this area. I understand the bank will always profit here, but when dealing with large sums, it can sometimes be possible to broker a deal with them on what they will charge you. Hopefully, I’ll be able to bring you a success story in relation to this. I’m not sure if many student pilots look into this when training abroad, I certainly didn’t when in the US, and I noticed a big difference, I had naively thought the credit card was the cheapest option available. But, it worked out quite expensive. 

So, what this space for currency exchange tips.