Alright, putting the Instructor Rating questions aside, I've got a few more questions.
I'm currently tossing up between two flight schools - Barry Foster's Woorayl Air in Leongatha (they mainly specialise in Ag flying) and Yarra Valley Aviation in Lilydale. I've had one lesson at Leongatha which went pretty well, although I was a bit put off how little time they let me control the aircraft (not sure if this is the norm or just them being conservative as it was a pretty windy day with low cloud cover). Their plan is to get me to start with an RPL flying the C-150 around then skip straight to CPL. I work three nights a week in Melbourne and would be driving up to Leongatha every week (I have family nearby I can stay with there) to fly three days a week.
Alternatively Lilydale promote the RAus route starting with the RPC then converting to GA later, they are mostly a bit pricier except for their Jabirus which are the cheapest I've seen anywhere at $110/220 solo/dual. The big advantage being it's only a twenty minute drive from my house.
Any opinions on either option? Is it worth all the extra petrol and time going up to Leongatha to take advantage of their experience (they're all multi-thousand hour pilots, do on-site maintenace and Barry is a flight examiner so no waiting around for checkrides, plus a really nice and quiet training area)? Or take the convenient option?
Cheers.