The best instructor is the one you like & trust most. If you have a rapport with the guy at MFT - go with it.
It might be a newly minted PPL, but it is a PPL. You know how to fly (I hope). You already more experience that a bunch of WW2 pilots did when they went to war. The instructor is there to satisfy the insurers, calm your nerves in an unfamiliar place / be tourguide and maybe do a bit of coaching. The bay is nearly a continuous loop. Keep following the beach and you'll get back to your starting point! A calm late afternoon flight / early morning flight that avoids the thermal bumps on a clear day will be magic. You could call in at Tyabb / Tooradin or Bacchus Marsh which will give you a bit more experience with unfamiliar strips. If you plan 2 shorter trips (rather than a single 2 hour one) you've got a fighting chance of doing the second one solo.
Buy a VTC (or bring your iPad with Ozrunways) and study it a bit for familiarity. You can buy a VTC at Skylines if you don't get one at your home base.
If you have learned at Bankstown, then Moorabbin will be easier, but it might be worth familiarising yourself with the taxiways from ERSA.
You might like to think about an Essendon landing for the experience. It will almost guarantee you a nice over the city flight on either the way in or the way out too!
Last edited by Old Akro; 30th Nov 2012 at 23:05.