Silence is Golden
Hi Silver,
As goneeast stated, I am the most recent departure, I think so anyway; however, my opinions are based on conditions at least 6 weeks ago.
To give you plain advice - I would not go there.
The situation is, in my opinion, too volatile to entrust a loan of that magnitude to an organization which has a history, albeit a short one, of structural deterioration and fracture. There may have been steps taken to "shore up" the foundations but I wouldn't trust those either. All it will take is another self-destructive pounding and the school will be shaken to its roots again.
According to students with whom I still have contact, the school is unable to fly the students it has already; it just does not have the resources nor the airspace to do so. Unfortunately, I have seen situations before where there have been short-cuts taken with too few resources and tragedy is the usual outcome. I am not suggesting that AAA will take these short-cuts; however, to me it seems likely, an apparently cavalier attitude towards regulations and over-confidence in one's own judgement are not conducive to treading the right path.
With the current economic climate, Silver, I would want to obtain a proper JAA license; you should be able to get a great deal with the European schools. I would look for one that completes a big portion of flight-time in the USA where the weather and gas prices are still good. The FBI background check is now fast and efficient, and no longer a major obstacle.
I hope this helps.
Gilderoy, Klubman, goneeast - isn't it noticeable that unlike the previous critical thread where students and staff were vociferous in defending AAA, especially the RJA guys, that is no longer the case. I think the silence is most eloquent!!