Interesting comments.
FIS is the lowest level of service an ATC unit can give you - if you don't want it - then don't call, as 2D's so well explains. Monitoring the frequency is good however and, if you do feel you're the guy that he's getting vexed about - then come up on the frequency and ask for a FIS - it's no great shakes to the Controller concerned and gives him an idea as to what you're doing.
Well yes and no. You can probably guess something like this happened at the weekend. I was well above the CAS of the airport in question. The controller in question was mouthing off generally in a withering tone about unknown traffic (and there were maybe three unknowns including me) in her traffic advice to those she was talking to (four light aircraft by the sound of it). It was fairly clear that she didn't accept that there were any aircraft which were entitled to not talk to her. Having listened to her for a while, frankly I didn't want to talk to her.
For the record, I was squawking Mode C and was nowhere near the area where airways flights would leave CAS for the approach. I wasn't doing aeros over the airport, just a couple of turns to get a better look before heading off in another direction. In fact, if I had being doing aeros, that would be easier to call in since I would have been predicable and in a fairly small area.
I guess it was just the attitude of the controller in question that got me going.
FWA NATCA - I would always try to talk to the controllers if I thought I had something to tell them that would be useful. But the flight I described couldn't really be called "known traffic". How would it help them to know that they can't assume I'm going to be predicable? Are they going to block out a whole pile of airspace for me?
I think I'll try the "no service required call" and see if that works.