Workload and readback
The scenario:
A light twin with a newish engine, at MTWA, single-pilot IFR departs Cambridge on a hot day with an instruction to climb straight ahead to 2000 ft then left to BKY at 3000 ft.
After first contact, Stansted Director comes back with an instruction to take up a radar heading of 150 after passing 2400 ft, cleared to enter controlled airspace and describes the limitation of the current radar service.
The pilot, slightly distracted by the need to get a 500 fpm rate of climb while keeping the new engine from frying, screws up the readback. Stansted patiently and politely corrects him, and all is well. LATCC continues to provide a super service throughout the flight, as always.
The question:
How much thought about pilot workload do you give when issuing relatively complex instructions, and when checking the readback?
Pilots should be capable of that level multitasking, but I'd much rather be following a SID or instructions received on the ground at that point of the flight. In this case, I suspect the change to the clearance in the air was unavoidable.