Lowglider,
Welcome. I'm no sky god by any means but as a ppl flying around the london for a few years now these are my thoughts.
1) Is there really any major difference between the various flight schools in and around London? They all seem to be similarly priced (£150ph) and offer basically the same thing?
It's well worth doing some serious research here! What I would say is keep in mind additional costs which flying schools may omit to mention. E.g. Stapleford include landing fees in lesson prices whereas the school I learned at charged some £30 per landing in addition to headline lesson costs. This really mounts up over an entire PPL course (I should add this was at Biggin Hill and the school is now defunct). Caveat emptor applies and I would urge you to visit prospective schools to assess them for yourself. The commute to the school is worth considering as it is a journey you'll be making a lot.
The NPPL is worth considering as it is substantially cheaper than a full EASA PPL and gives you largely the same privileges - with a few key differences around flying internationally.
+1 recommendation for north weald flying group. As the previous poster has alluded to they are looking to obtain ATO (flying school) status. Worth calling the group for the latest on this - my understanding is that they currently can only offer training to qualified pilots rather than ab-initio but I understand this is under review. I gather this is due to planning restrictions at north weald airfield rather than anything to do with the group itself which includes highly experienced instructors.'
Finally on this point, I would advise against handing over substantial sums up front for flight training. If the school goes bust before you complete the course you stand to lose the lot. If the school offers a discount for upfront payment I would suggest asking for the same discount in exchange for your committing to complete the course with them. If they don't offer this walk away as it's a competitive market.
2) Given I am learning purely as a hobby, would it be worthwhile considering alternative routes that involve completing initial training on smaller/cheaper types of aircraft (e.g. microlights)?
I would give serious consideration to microlights. The new breed of microlight (c42, flight design CT series etc.) offer equivalent levels of performance to light aircraft for a faction of the price due to lower fuel burn and maintenance costs.
Microlights are 2 seat only, and subject to a max weight of 450kgs so limit you in range and passenger numbers. You've stated you have no commercial ambitions which is important as hours on microlights cannot be counted towards commercial licenses in the future. It's worth keeping this in mind should your commercial aspirations change.
3) Would I be correct that safety is not a concern these days or are there certain things I should be aware of?
It's difficult to find concrete statistics on this. From my research on the issue GA flying is roughly equivalent to motorcycling in terms of bald safety statistics. That said the biggest killers of PPLs are all potentially avoidable: they are controlled flight into terrain, continued VFR flight into instrument conditions and fuel starvation. if you adopt a risk averse and prudent approach to flight planning you will go a long way towards making your personal risk profile safer than the general statistics would imply. As with any worthwhile activity in life there is some risk involved and it's a personal decision as to whether the risk is worth it for you.
[quote]4) Is there a minimum frequency that I should aim to complete lessons at? Would a lesson a
fortnight allow development of skills and knowledge or is this too infrequent?
I was always told the more intensively you can fly the better, but aim for weekly lessons at a minimum. If you only fly once a fortnight you will find it is one step forward, two steps back as you re-learn much of your previous lesson. This will be both frustrating and expensive at £150 per hour!.
I would suggest initially flying once per week as a minimum and once you get to solo standard book two or three weeks off work and complete the solo and skills test elements intensively.
In the uk weather is a big consideration. I would suggest commencing your training in March or April with a view completing the course by the autumn so that you (in theory at least) minimise cancelations due to weather.
Hope the above helps.
T.