There we are; happily confirming that my ex-colleague with CCE A-levels and a handful of GCSEs is now a serving pilot.
The pay, however, is massively out of kilter; where did that come from? £28 500 isn't an officer pay rate at all. An Acting Pilot Officer kicks off on around £15k, a Pilot Officer at £19k, a Flying Officer at £23k and a Flight Lieutenant at £30k. The rank you start at depends on qualifications, specifically whether or not you have a degree, and what type of degree that is. Once you've been flying for approximately a year you'll get flying pay on top of regular pay which is around £3.6k on the initial rate, rising every 4 years. Your regular pay also rises every year, and your promotion to Flight Lieutenant is guaranteed, but how long it takes depends on qualifications. After that, promotion is on merit.
To earn £83k you have to be up at Air rank, which is not particularly common. Even then, the lowest Air rank only pays around £65k, and the flying pay rules once you're a senior officer work differently.