Hi
I got my PPL with Pearson Aviation, again at Essendon Airport - very impressed with the standard of teaching and progress they made with me.
I recommend you take a trip over there and see what you think of each place around the airport terminal. Normal rules apply - go the same time you might be flying yourself (week or weekend) and get a general feel for each place.
Meet a few instructors and talk through what you want, in what timeframe etc....
Then try and speak with a few students to see what they think of the place - are there enough instructors, do they keep cancelling lessons, are the planes always going tech....
It might also be worth posting or taking a look at the D&G (Oz and NZ) pages on PPRuNe:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/forumdi...?s=&forumid=24
Hope this helps, enjoy getting your PPL.
Regards,
esvdx