Originally Posted by
ausatc123
If at any point the pilot said they were concerned about staying visual or required a clearance they would have got it... don't you understand this? This sounds like it is about pilot education... they need to stop being scared about talking to us, or saying no... there are no repercussions to doing this... and its not worth your life to save the embarassment of talking to ATC.
Previous experience with ATC has made many VFR pilots wary. I'm sure I've mentioned before about an experience into Tamworth, there were 4 aircraft inbound including a Singapore Lear and a Dash 8. I was inbound VFR and was held and had to change levels, after a barrage of instructions the controller said time to knock off and sort yourselves out. Previous to that it was dangerous to have 4 aircraft inbound, after the controller shut down the aircraft inbound sorted it out and you'll be surprised to know there were no accidents.
The experience I've found with Alice Springs, Tamworth, Coffs and Maroochydore, they make it hard for VFR traffic, even with no inbound IFR traffic. Most VFR pilots I talk to have the same experience, they try to avoid ATC even at their own peril it seems.