C152 or HR200? Does aircraft matter?
 

I have 7 hours towards my PPL already (through scholarship), and am now self-funding. I am close to finishing medical school, and pursuing a PPL is something I want to do as a hobby and lifelong dream.

It is slightly cheaper to fly a Robin HR200, and this specific flying school has a more affordable fuel surcharge compared to others. I have only flown C152s until now. Does it matter which aircraft you do your PPL in? How easy is it to learn how to fly a C152 after training in an HR200? I see the C152 as more widely available and the "standard" trainer so I'm unsure if I should deviate from that.

Any advice would be much appreciated! I've booked a trial 1hr lesson in an HR200 just because I'm curious what it would be like, but I haven't committed to choosing a flying school/aircraft yet. The added fuel surcharges given the current situation makes it a bit harder to decide flying school as it can vary as much as £7.50 to £20 an hour extra!

The cheapest PPL will be done in the shortest time - with the best instructor(s) for you. The school matters more than the aircraft or hourly charge.
(Just a PPL whose had many checkouts over the years.)

Indeed the type of plane should be little relevant. Far more important to stick with the school/club and the instructor that best fits your personality. And - as pointed out above - get it over and done as quick as you can, without hurrying though.

If it is not too late yet: have you considered a sub-icao licence? A C42 Icarus or similar flies even nicer than a C152, and at considerably less cost. The downside is that you cannot progress to IFR or night flying, but very few ppl'ers do, either.

Between those two, no - two perfectly good training aeroplanes. Pick the cheapest, so long as you're happy with the instructor and the school.

G

I haven’t flown the HR200 but I have flown other aircraft with a ‘proper’ stick instead of a yoke. The C152 is benign but same as most other Cessna’s it’s about as exciting as a wet paper bag. Flies like one too. I’ve got 4000+ hrs in Cessna SE products.
Ergonomically a stick works better with how your wrist and elbow and shoulder work together.
So my vote goes to the HR200.

Benign and unexciting - perfect qualities for a training aircraft.

The HR200 is also benign but is much, much, much, much more fun to fly than a C152.

It depends what you prefer so I'd have an hour in the Robin. Most of my flying was in Robins at Inverness ( G-BWPG & G-BWVG ) lovely responsive sharp handling aircraft a pleasure to fly. Also flew C-152, control surfaces and controls seem to be connected by bungee cords, not a fan, however PG & VG no longer with us, PG I think was lost in Cromarty Firth.