I guess I will throw my $.02 in here. First off, good call on air traffic management. I am currently wishing they would stop hiring only AT-CTI grads and start hiring off the street again. I want to switch to ATC but didnt do an AT-CTI school and am too old to start it and be done before the age restriction to start. The pilot shortage is a myth, but controller shortages are not.

As for flight schools, unless it has a changed alot, I woudl avoid Phoenix East. I did a few hours of training there and then found a Part 61 school called Cloud Dancer Aviation. They have since moved to DeLand airport, which is a 20 minute drive from Daytona. Over by the CAP there are a bunch of hangars. There are flight schols that come and go all the time over there that are usually WAY cheaper than Pheonix East or Riddle. Just be prepared to fly ugly planes. They are safe, just not pretty. Also look into flight schools in New Smyrna or Ormond. If you are gonna have a car down there, it might be worth it to drive to the nearby airports. There used to be a flight school called Epic in New Smyrna... and I know there are usually two schools at Ormond, but its usually a new school or a school under a new name every few years.

Again I will take this chance to plug Cloud Dancer Aviation in Deland, FL. Its a bit of a drive, but the owner cares about his students. He always told us "we dont train pilots, we make aviators." I did my Instrument through MEI there (with teh execption of a multi-commercial add-on at riddle...had to do one on campus for degree). The planes are well maintained.