DiVosh:
It's not just the quantity of traffic; it's "where they are" as pilots. You've got English challenged guys who are taught at the sausage factories going on PPL solo flights through there.
Some of these guys have almost zero situational awareness. Couple that with an inability to fly their areoplane in a practical way (i.e. if they're taught to fly over Brighton, that's the only place they'll fly over. It's not an option in their minds to fly 1nm west of Brighton and report "1Nm west of Brighton" when contacting MB tower).
And it's not just trainee pilots. I've seen countless examples of so-called experienced PPL's and CPL's who just barge on through there without any concept that other aircraft are in the sky.
IMHO, it's an accident waiting to happen.
Then why the hell allow a drop zone to be created in the first place - on the major Northern and Western approach to the busiest airport in Australia?
I don't see why I or any other pilot should have to put up with the inconvenience. just to satisfy the thrill seeking needs of a bunch of St Kilda backpacking bogans and the greed of one parachuting business whose actions have just demonstrated a complete contempt for life and limb - close it down.
Furthermore, some inbound pilots are now not tracking from Williamstown to Station Pier and proceeding down the coast to Brighton but tracking direct without a hope in hell of gliding to land if they have an engine failure and of course not wearing a life jacket.
When one of them inevitably goes in I bet CASA issues an order making the wearing of life jackets mandatory for anyone tracking North and West out of YMMB.