In the interests of professional development (although I haven't worked in Townsville since 1996, I still have friends and colleagues there to whom I will gladly pass on any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism as opposed to general whingeing) would you care to be specific?
There are talented vs average controllers everywhere, just as there are vast differences in piloting ability.
I have worked both Darwin and Townsville (yes, the RAAF provides all DAR ATC out to 40nm - even though the bulk of the traffic is civvy) and have yet to work alongside an ATC who deliberately stuffs pilots around. ("Vectoring for controller amusement" being an in-joke rather than a procedure).
There are several common faults:
1) Pilots fly one aircraft at a time, ATCs manage xx number of acft. So each time you feel you are getting faffed around, there's no doubt someone else on freq who's getting a really good run (albeit at your expense). This not only occurs due to ATC ability - other factors include, traffic density, acft performance, weather, terrain etc..
Also, RAAF bases tend to have very little airspace (40nm = about 6-7 minutes from receiving a B737 on freq to handing it off to TWR). The surrounding airspace belongs to ASA and we don't get the benefits of maestro or a dedicated Flow controller. If 2 acft are handed off in such a way that indicates a dead heat to the rwy (as frequently occurred in DN) and I only have 40nm to do something about, then one of them is in for some extra track miles. Without a flow controller, then when APP is busy inside their 40nm, looking out to 100nm to check someone else's airspace to coordinate speed restrictions etc just doesn't happen.
So, although you may feel that you are getting the rough end of the pineapple, you are not the only pilot in the sky, sunshine. If you require priority you are not receiving - feel free to declare the appropriate emergency - otherwise enjoy the view from your window and be glad you have such a great office.
2) It is often true that RAAF bases have a hefty training debt. This is due to our current 3 year posting cycle, which few civil ATC centres have. At the coalface we have long been requesting longer postings and it is being looked into by the brass. Currently it can take 6- 18 months in location to achieve all ratings (APP and TWR) depending on whether the trainee is an experienced ATC from another base or ab initio.
So approx 1/3 of the section at any given time is either new to the area or new to the whole job. Meanwhile, expect it to get worse before it gets better as ASA have finally chosen to "show us the money", recognising experience levels over 5 years so the exit door now appears chocked open.
With appropriate deference to Mr Smith's concilatory comment about those of us at the coal face being hampered by restrictive rules from above, I'd like to point out that military and civil controllers operate by the same rule book - the Manual of Air Traffic Services. While there are definitely different procedures for different operations, the basic separation standards (3nm radar, 1000ft vert, visual sep etc) apply.
Finally - any pilots who are unhappy with the service provided to them should contact the SATCO (Senior Air Traffic Control Officer) at the relevant base to discuss their concerns. (Just look up the base in your local white pages and ask for ATC). It is highly unlikely that things will improve just because you whinge about it on PPRUNE. Let us know your concerns and we'll try to address them. But, please, be specific and professional rather than just pi$$ed off. (Or let us know your callsign so we can REALLY take care of you next time....
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