New FSS Policy

Well that kind of invalidates the idea that the flight plan is the plan of
the flight doesn't it?


"Aluckyguess" wrote in message
...
Add 15 minutes to your flight


"Gig 601XL Builder" wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote in message
news:ly9af.2056$5N1.1831@dukeread08...
This is not a good thing. If the contact number is your home number I can
just here the phone call.

MY WIFE: Hello
FSS: Yes has Mr Giacona arrived yet?
MY WIFE: No
FSS: OK Thanks

My wife then begins to think I've crashed & burned, meanwhile I'm taxiing
into my hanger 5 minutes behind schedule.

Peter R. wrote:

Jay Beckman wrote:

After a few calls from FSS when I forgot to close my VFR flight plan, I
sided with many in this group who advocated only filing a VFR FP when
flying out of radar coverage which, in my case, only applied when I was
flying up to the Adirondack mountains of NY state.

I've filed exactly one VFR flight plan since I got my ticket and that
was only six weeks after I got it. It was my first serious cross
country flight (300+ miles and 3 - 4 hours each way). After that I
decided it wasn't worth it.


In all other cases, I rationalized that flying with flight following in
radar coverage negated the value of a VFR flight plan.

I would agree with that, but now anything over 100 miles I'll file IFR
even on a CAVU day: ATC can terminate your FF, but not your IFR flight
plan.


-m
--
## Mark T. Dame
## VP, Product Development
## MFM Software, Inc. (http://www.mfm.com/)
"Forget the Joneses, I keep us up with the Simpsons."

Jay Beckman wrote:

So, welcome to the new Lockheed/Martin world order...

I don't know if it's because of the change to Lockheed-Martin -- I had
the same thing happen to me once in the U.S. a year or so ago (I think
it was at Teterboro), before the switch. I imagine that the specialist
has a big list of calls to make and just wants to get through them
early sometimes.

In defense of FSS, I have accidentally made them call around for real
in the U.S. In Canada, towered airports (almost always) will close a
VFR flight plan for you automatically, since tower will automatically
have a copy of any incoming VFR flight plans; as a result, it's easy
for a Canadian pilot to forget to close a flight plan when landing at a
towered field in the U.S. I'm pretty good at remembering now, but it
took some practice, and caused U.S. FSS some bother (it's easier to
remember at untowered airports).


All the best,


David

Chris wrote:

here in the UK the way a VFR flight plan works is that the pilot nominates a
responsible person (family member, FBO etc) to make the call if they are
overdue rather than have the ATC make assumptions. The basis is that no news
is good news.

We have something similar in Canada, called a "Flight Itinerary", but
there have been problems with people not understanding how to notify
SAR (or even remembering that they should). In the U.S., the VFR
flight plan is entirely optional, so Americans can do things the U.K.
way if they want; however, it's nice to have a professional system in
place to respond quickly if you go missing. Most U.S. control towers
don't get involved with VFR flight plans -- you deal directly with
flight services.

In Canada, the VFR flight plan *or* flight itinerary (as in the U.K.)
is required for any trip over 25 nautical miles from the starting
point, and control towers do deal with VFR flight plans quite
efficiently.

Both Canada and the U.S. require VFR flight plans for cross-border
flights.


All the best,


David

Mark T. Dame wrote:
I would agree with that, but now anything over 100 miles I'll file IFR
even on a CAVU day: ATC can terminate your FF, but not your IFR flight
plan.


That's me as well. I have to deal with Class B airspace but there's always an
accomodation made for me if I'm IFR. I can always cancel in the vicinity of my
destination, assuming weather allows.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:SZfaf.3511$y23.2214@trndny08...
.Blueskies. wrote:

So who has a cell phone?

Thank you! I was beginning to think I'm the only one without one.

Nope. You're not. There might only be three of us, but the number is
definitely greater than one.

"Judah" wrote in message
. ..
What about pilots who have no friends or family?


such a sad git ought not to fly then

".Blueskies." writes:


"Marco Leon" mmleon(at)yahoo.com wrote in message ...
So now you know--give them your cell phone number!

So who has a cell phone?

....and how would putting your cell phone number on a flight
plan help in the event that the flight plan actually has to
be used for its intended purpose?

Can it just be left blank?

--kyler

"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:z4gaf.3515$y23.3093@trndny08...
Chris wrote:

here in the UK the way a VFR flight plan works is that the pilot
nominates a responsible person (family member, FBO etc) to make the call
if they are overdue rather than have the ATC make assumptions. The basis
is that no news is good news.

That's the way most of us who don't file flight plans do things over here.

I only file a VFR flight plan when I have to either when travelling over
water or across and international boundary.

Travelling to France one needs to telephone on landing to close the flight
plan. The French will send you a bill for a needless SAR callout, usually
about $15000, but returning to the UK the process is a whole lot simpler.

Well, I was responding to the post about the fear of having the wife getting
histerical because of the call from the FSS. I am assuming (maybe
incorrectly) that the FSS will attempt to call you cell number more than
once if they don't get you. After all, that's the only phone number on the
flight plan.

A freind of mine once forgot to close his VFR flight plan landing at an
uncontrolled field with only a payphone for "facilities." The FSS wound up
calling the town's public works maintenance department to verify he was on
the ground. Leaving his cell number would have probably averted that
situation.

Marco Leon

"Kyler Laird" wrote in message
...
".Blueskies." writes:


"Marco Leon" mmleon(at)yahoo.com wrote in message
...
So now you know--give them your cell phone number!

So who has a cell phone?

...and how would putting your cell phone number on a flight
plan help in the event that the flight plan actually has to
be used for its intended purpose?

Can it just be left blank?

--kyler



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