Phil Stone, a business management consultant, describes his experience gained while following an increasingly popular route to obtaining the Private Pilots License (PPL): the intensive course. He travelled from the UK to Florida and learned to fly in near ideal weather conditions and at a huge saving in cost by comparison with UK courses. This account of his experiences is not intended as a technical manual. It is intended as a practical guide to the physical and emotional aspects of the endeavour and has been written in order to help potential pilots try to understand exactly what they are about to undertake and hopefully prepare them for the pain, anguish and despair that they will sometimes feel, as well as the elation of achieving the various goals along the route to a Private Pilot's License.