I would agree with boiler. I HAVE been to both an FBO and a flight school. In fact, I got my private part 61 and the rest part 141/142. The training is vastly different at both. Checklists and procedures are more centralized to the way airlines do things. We have advanced classes in aircraft systems, nav systems and CRM, things an FBO won't teach you. That way things are a lot easier in ground schools because you've heard most things at least once in your career. I can go and talk to pilots all day long about detailed topics and deal with advanced aircraft. If I can figure out how to fly an Airbus, I can learn to fly anything else . Obviously it'll take a lot of hard work and studying, but I can do it.