What to do when waiting for PPL?

Thank you all for the detailed responses. This has given me a lot to think about.

As it happens, a box was left empty on my PPL application form so this will delay things by a few weeks or a month. I still intend on 3-4 hrs per week flying though.

My long term plan is CPL/IR, and my current job affords me a lot of free time so I should be able to do this debt free over the next couple of years. I’m considering the IR(R) and would likely start this soon. I’ve been lucky to do some trips with Peter in his TB20 so I have had a good taste of instrument flying operations and IMC/Wx etc which is hugely valuable, and I can see how even a few hours of instrument practice would go a long way.

This week I’ll look at landing somewhere else, though I will be constrained on time so Sandown looks like a good option since the flight time is very short. My PFLs were not my strong point during training so I’ll try this too, along with holding heading/altitudes more accurately.

I’ve had a look through the POH regarding leaning and done some research, this looks easy enough on the PA28-161 provided I’m below 75% power. No EGT or CHT so I will have to lean by RPM only.

Despite this school being fairly cheap for Shoreham, it’s still £165/hr +vat wet to rent, adding a £30 landing fee (£15 for t&g) means most of my flights are £400+. That buys a lot of avgas in your own plane, so ownership is an obvious goal. Prices are insane and unlikely to come down, the only PA-28s remotely within my budget have timed out engines. Reading Euroga has taught me that buying a plane cheaply with the intention of doing it up is almost always a false economy… Something like a Jodel D120 would likely fit my needs (given budget of 30k) for the next couple years, with the obvious running cost advantages associated with a permit aircraft. Serious EU touring is likely to be problematic for the next couple of years anyway…