Jim Fisher wrote:

The reality and the body of evidence (consisting of thousands of successful
graduates of these programs going back 100 years) tends to indicate
otherwise.

There is no "evidence" to show that these pilots would not have been
better if they had had a conventional course. Unless you come up with
some, I'll stick with logic and the expectations of highly experienced
instructors, whose anecdotal evidence runs counter to your pet theory.

The other side of the coin is the high proportion of private pilots who
spread their training out over too many months, and even years, and who
waste both time and money while failing to make much progress. Every CFI
can tell you stories about that kind of student, but I suppose their
"evidence" would be inadequate for you, too.


Jack