I had way more fun flying and flight instructing at LEX and FKR than I ever did flying & flight instructing during my time at Purdue. Purdue (and all universities) have a time-proven curriculum set up...but such curriculum is built to minimize risk and therefore generally limits the learning often gained from new airports and new challenges. I personally think these programs often create new pilots who are redundant on technology (GPS) and do them an injustice when it comes to ADM skills. At Purdue we never discussed marshalling hand/wand signals; had to learn those on my own. We also never gassed our own airplanes. I am afraid that advanced technology primary trainers will create a crop of new commercial pilots that don't know how to do a single-nav hold, fly 'steam gauges' or the proper procedure for landing on a short and/or grass strip...and that is unfortunate.

I *did* get to fly MDW-FWA for my long instrument cross-country though thanks to my instructor who liked to experience new things (and she had never been to MDW). Flying an ILS at 130kts to the 31C MM in an Arrow with a DC-9 up your butt was real-world experience I never got flying the ILS 10 at KLAF.