I think you raise a valid point Mr Blair. What it really comes down to is what your objectives out of your training are.
If you just want a licence, then do it the cheapest way possible. Just guard against skimping on early (cheap) training to find out someone has to spend time correcting your bad habits later on, when it’s expensive.
If you want to work as a flying instructor or air taxi pilot, then I suggest you get a broad an experience of general aviation as you can, preferably (if you want to work in the UK) in marginal (rather than Arizona) weather. The modular route is definitely best for this.
If you aspire to be one of the very few who go straight from an FTO to the RHS of an airline, then do not waste your time becoming an expert in VFR nav. The integrated courses will give you the bare minimum of IFR training, but more than an unstructured modular ‘hours building’ programme is likely to. If you choose modular, the 100 odd hours between PPL and the CPL module are crucial. I’m not aware of any programme that addresses this issue well.
I have seen students present for the CPL module at extremes. There are those who are fully prepared, capable of getting through in the minimum hours, easily as good as their integrated counterparts. I have also seen those who are dreadful. They have either totally wasted their time, just sticking hours in their log books (often unaware of the poor training value of the flying they are doing), or, worse, they have developed/picked up really bad techniques then practiced them until they become habits. Sometimes these people resent reality; which is all too often that they have to unlearn before they can learn, and it costs them a lot. More often, they regret poor choices/corner cutting early on, made when less well informed about the realities of their profession.
IMHO, 50 hours in 7 days is an excellent example of boring holes in the sky. It’s also unsafe.
The choice, of course, is yours. Just make sure that your choice is relevant to your ambitions, that those are specific, measurable, realistic, and can be achieved in the timescale you set. Oh, and yes, it should also be fun.
