Newbie issues in general
Runway09,
The one piece of advice I would give to a beginner in the UK would be to expect more than half of your bookings to be cancelled because of bad Wx. A further few will be cancelled because of A/C 'going technical' or into servicing or the instructor going sick.
I would say book more lessons than you really want, because at most times of the year you will lose half of them for the reasons given above. You can always cancell any you can't afford the day before.
Here's another tip. You will need a bag to carry your nav instruments, kneeboard and eventually headset in. Argos sell a Pierre Cardin pilot bag for £20 that is every bit as good as ones Transair and others sell for very much more.
Here's another. All your nav instruments (rulers, protractors, etc) are made from trasparent plastic and invariably have both 1:500,000 and 1:250,000 scale markings. In practice, you will only use one scale, (usually the 1:500,000) and you invariably 'lose' these instruments because you can't see them when they are lying on the chart. Worse still, it is all too easy to use the wrong scale when you are planning your flight. Here's what you do. You paint the back surface of the scale you DO use with Tippex. This means the protractor/ruler will be very much easier to use and you won't 'lose' the protractor/ruler on the chart or use the wrong scale when planning your flight.
There are loads more. Watch the experienced pilots in your FTO or club and you'll learn a good deal more.
Moderators, why don't we have a 'sticky' Called 'Tips and Wheezes for Newbies' to hold the little things we all learn eventually, (but not before we have wasted money or time first,) that make life so much easier.
Good luck to all newbies: welcome to the world of flying.
Broomstick.