I should firstly point out that I am trying to talk fairly about Orlando Flight Training. For getting me through the vast majority of my flight training, I cannot fault them...
Does anybody have any insight to these 2 schools or has gone to them
I was at Orlando Flight Training from early 2009 until the middle of 2010.
Orlando flight training has a similar price range
Ignore all-inclusive prices at Orlando Flight Training. For all sorts of reasons, you will end up doing more hours than you expected. I suggest you ask the school how many students complete their training in minimum hours. Whilst I cannot give you an accurate answer myself, I would estimate (at most) 5-10%.
ATPL distance learning
The school offers a residential ATPL ground school, which I would recommend. At the time I did my ATPLs, Orlando Flight Training had a great (and very knowledgeable) chief ground instructor. He is no longer with the school, but the ground instructors that remain all know their stuff and they are all very experienced in the industry. Regular class tests track your progress, which must be passed in order for you to sit the real exam.
are they professional, instructor-student ratio etc
Professional? A lot of the staff, yes, but others, most certainly not. After being wrongly fined $150 for not showing up for a flight and nagging at one particular employee to do something about it, she one day said, in front of quite a large audience, "I don't have f**king time for this". Fortunately, she is not on the flying side, so you wouldn't see much of her. I found many of the staff at Euroflight to be very likeable, chatty people, including the dispatch staff and the assistant to the chief pilot. There are a handful of staff members who think that they are doing students a huge favour, which isn't the case. These people rarely treat the students as paying customers, and you will find that some have little or no respect for you. The lady mentioned above was one of these people.
As for instructor-to-student ratio, it varies a lot. When I started, I was one of seven students with an instructor, and that was just too many! For the rest of my training, each instructor had 3-4 students, which guaranteed one flight each day, with the option of another if I wanted it.
any information id much appreciate it
Ask about hidden charges with any school - the sorts of things that won't have been included in your rock-bottom quotation for their Pro Pilot courses. Fuel surcharges fluctuate, and they can really push the price of a flight up. Also ask about any fines imposed on students as Orlando Flight Training has a lot of them.. No-show fees, littering, not closing aircraft windows, not tying aircraft down etc. Everywhere you look at the school is a sign telling you of fines for doing various things!