I go in and out of Townsville both IFR and VFR and have no complaints. With rare exception - always looked after well even when they are shooting at stuff in the many Restricted Areas around YBTL, and I try to help with the flow wherever possible - but I wish they would NOT refer to me as a Baron!
Approach controller did get a bit precious a few weeks ago when I proceeded to track direct to my destination after competing the required turn on departure (left hand turn off 01 for a TL-MA track). 99.999% of the time this is what I am told to do, this time I got chipped for not intercepting my departure track within 5 nm. Fair enough - I was in the wrong, but the difference could only have been 1 nm at most. The "
I'll let it go this time" was not necessary! So now I track to intercept outbound track within 5 nm every time, by the book, and as soon as the Appr controller realises what I am doing they tell me to track direct from present position!!! Go figure!
Big improvement from a few years ago when VFR traffic got scattered to all points of the compass when an RAAF aircraft called taxying or inbound. In the worse example of this I was radar vectored off a 10 mile final for Rwy 01 after a Herc called 40 nm out inbound - and finally landed on 07 about 20 min later.
Then there was the radar vector that would have put me into the side of a mountain, but that's a whole other story!
Haven't flown VFR through Amberley when active for 26 years - but don't recall it being any big deal!
Dr 