Flight Following question

Newps wrote in
:

I understand that. It's a routing issue. Perhaps DUAT doesn't allow
you to file VFR/125 as your altitude on your IFR flightplan. That is
a limitation written into the computer program, not anything from FAA.

You are pretty much reiterating what I am trying to say.....

You don't receive VFR flight plans when WE FILE THEM. You only receive
IFR flight plans. (your words above as well!)

Now, with that in mind, the system is "fudged" to receive a VFR flight
plan, by us (pilots) selecting IFR to generate a strip.

No matter what happens on your end, it's FILED as an IFR flight plan.

And yes, until I accept the clearance, it's nothing more then a strip of
paper on your end, and when you see VFR altitude on your end, you revise
that filing to a VFR flight, and I call in to activate the flight plan.

Notice I am saying activate, and not accept a clearance as I fully
understand you don't "clear to" VFR flight plans.

It may be a matter of semantics, but in order for you to receive a strip,
an IFR flight plan has to be filed, thus the deliniation of type in box 1
for routing purposes.

What you do with it on the other end (ATC) is a totally different issue.

I just see this as fudging the system to force a way of flight following,
which in my opinion IS NOT a bad thing, just another way of working the
system.

Of course the pilot would need to know what he is doing would be accepted
as a workload permitted basis and not expect it to work every time.

Allen