"The J-1 approach (from my limited understanding) requires full commitment. The aim is to qualify as early as possible so as to use the remaining visa time for any P1-time-increasing employment you can find. "
An important and useful point. I have seen a few go through my company that walked in the door as low time Robbie Warriors and go home after a few months (upon expiration of their VISA) with a couple hundred or more hours in the A-Star/EC-130. Since they did the right thing on the VISA, they left the door open for returns without problem.