The PA38 is, IMHO, the most unpleasant, nasty, aeroplane that I have flown to date.
The stall is a disgrace, since the break left or right and the sharpness is unpredictable and when some hangar rash has been added even more so ....... just the kind of thing to catch a low hours pilot who slightly mishandles.
For someone to say that this is a 'proper stall' is amazing - what on earth is the definition of a proper stall? The French took a different view with the Rallye which had leading edge slats and was virtually impossible to 'break' and the ailerons were effective when mushing down at 600fpm.
There is a school of thought that says aeroplanes that are difficult to stall/spin are safer, if you want to fly a type that stalls sharply, then fine to choose a lively trainer .... thats why the Harvard leads appropriately into Spits and Mustangs, but for most people does this make sense???
Look at the profusion of stall strips on the leading edge of a PA38 and ask why they are needed on an ab initio trainer.
It also had a range of ADs on the original verson - why?
I am a big fan of the PA28, but would suuport all remaining PA38s being turned into beer tins.
If you want to fly a good little trainer of similar size to a PA38, try a Beagle Pup, now there's an aeroplane that responds to good piloting.