Originally Posted by
Squawk7700
Melbourne is a shocker. They don’t care for giving you a clearance unless your aircraft has a blue tail on it. I’ve got ADSB in, with OZRunways and Avplan traffic too (arguably I can actually see and identity more traffic than they can) and I’ve recently been denied multiple clearances that would have been a non-event a few years back) when there has been visibly next to zero traffic in the whole Melbourne airspace sector.
When denied a clearance I usually reply and suggest that I can take any altitude of their choice including vectoring. The response usually includes a level of spite that subconsciously suggests how dare I ask again when I’ve already been told no.
I often don’t care if I have to go 30 miles or more out of the way if it means I can avoid some terrible turbulence and near scud-running at the legal minimum altitude over built-up areas.
Perhaps it would be good practice for these pilots flying as students of the blue tail to be denied a clearance on occasion so they can actually learn how to read a map and navigate around Melbourne and learn properly, rather than being guided and babied through airspace by ATC.
Edit: it has occurred to me that those IFR students are paying for the service and as a VFR I am not. I’ve often wondered if that is a factor in all this.
Nailed it Squawk! Ahh yes the spite or tone in the reply, maybe even a sigh if you’re lucky hahaha. Love that you don’t let them off that easy with an offer of complete flexibility.... must remember that reply next time!