I have to disagree with this statement. I used to work at AF in CA. A bunch of tools for CFI's. None of them knew there butt from a hole in the ground. It was one of the reasons why I quit. They use a team teaching approach, which in my experince usually causes the student to lag behind, becuase of the confusion of multiple teaching styles. They are however, like the previous poster responded, WAY overpriced. If I remember right, it's $190 an hour in a 172 solo, and $220 with the instructor. Ground was $90 an hour. And 141 is a sales gimmick. You are not likely to get your cert. in 35 hrs (PPL). And you will leave yourself with serious gaps to fill due to lack of flying experince (once again-141). I also think that never having to see the FAA, except for the CFI initial is leading the industry into a place where quality of pilots is going to seriously suffer. I have personally seen more than one person go through the process that didn't have a clue what was realy going on, and still get a PPL.
The only thing they offer that is worth the money is the CFI
I've heard that about SMO. I have personal experience with the Addison school and know that they pick the best out the academy to hire.....usually. Every school has their giligans but for the most part ADS is good on the instructor half.