"Alan Gerber" wrote in message
...

Is that really a necessary demarcation if approach is going to hand me off
to the tower?


What do you mean by hand you off to the tower? A handoff is a radar
function.



It's not particularly necessary, but it sure does save time. I got lost
on my first student cross-country solo, and it was a lot easier to ask
Approach for help, since I already had a squawk code, and, even though *I*
didn't know where I was, *they* already did. I could have contacted them
and gotten the same help, but it was faster since I was already - pardon
the expression - on their radar.


Flight following, by itself, is just traffic advisories.