VFR position reporting

Flight Watch is intended for weather and PIREPS, although in
an emergency, they will talk to you about the impending
crash or the other condition. But they are setup as weather
specialists.

For the real student pilots out there, position reports are
often a life saver. In areas of mountains, swamps, oceans
and deserts, even your slow trainer can get you many miles
away from your last known position in just a few minutes. A
flight plan files with a 90 minute ETE will often require a
search over several hundred square miles unless you have
either made accurate position reports, or received radar
service/flight following from ATC. Although VFR position
reports are usually given directly to FSS Radio on one of
the frequencies publish on the sectional chart or in the
AFD, you can give a VFR position report to ATC even if you
are not in radar contact, just call Center [call sign] VFR
position report. They will be able to record the report and
are happy to do so, particularly in remote areas.

Learn the format for a position report and don't waste their
time stammering. When you start IFR training, you'll be
ahead of the class.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
| They all work in the same building and get paid from the
same pool of money,
| but the last time I visited the Seattle AFSS there was one
person at the
| Flight Watch position whose sole responsibility it was to
answer queries
| about the weather on 122.0...s/he worked no other
frequency. And his scope
| did not have a flight plan screen, as did the other scopes
in the room.
|
| Bob Gardner
|
| "Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
| news | On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 08:33:20 -0800, Bob Gardner wrote:
|
| Uh... Andrew, you do realize that Flight Watch is a
purely weather
| position with no other responsibilities, right? Call
FSS, yes, call
| Flight
| Watch, no.
|
| I've often wondered: why the distinction? Isn't Flight
Watch the same set
| of people?
|
| - Andrew (a different Andrew)
|
|
|