Not sure about modernising being the key, personally.
While logic leads a train of thought to the conclusion that you shouldn't bother embarking on a PPL unless you have the money to sustain it, I wish this wasn't the case. I managed due to stubbornness where many would have quit, but it took me 2-3 years. Had I been paying any more at all, due to improved fleet, I simply couldn't have done it. And when you want to fly that badly, you're not too worried about the quality of the aeroplane, as long as the engine is still running and the wings are still on.
If this kind of keenness is what it really takes to fly anyway, all tarting up the GA scene will achieve is attracting more of the tiny minority who begin _because_ they can afford it but subsequently get bored.
I have kept flying, thanks in part to pprune, to friends I picked up on the way, to a supportive partner, to a pretty flexible club and also to a crazy ambition to go professional that I never did quite manage to shake off, despite the fact that I'm normally quite sensible!!
Nonetheless, I suffered a debilitating loss of confidence post-qualifying which culminated last February in me travelling 2 hours to the airfield, only to hit my head on the strut in the middle of the walk-around and burst into tears, telling my checklist that it was hopeless and I just couldn't do it!
It was my personality that got me into that state, but luckily it was also my personality that got me out, with the help of an excellent instructor. Now, following a good summer of consolidation, I am a much happier little pilot.
There are those with the money to do it properly, and there are those who are resilient in adversity and resourceful. I suspect you need either one or the other.
Imagine how busy the skies would be in the SE on a nice summer Saturday if there were 10 times as many of us buzzing around!
