Flight Following

"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:XLMke.66$3u3.38@trnddc07...

FWIW, I don't give any destination or route in the request when
VFR and have very seldom been asked for it. One time was midway
cross-country when I had been handed over to one sector, then made a turn
over an intersection and headed for another.

Having some idea of where you're going makes it easier for the controller to
pass on flight info to the next controller.

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

In addition to the above, using Flight Following means that you are in
direct contact with ATC should you develop some sort of in-flight
emergency. You can therefore communicate that difficulty immediately
without having to search for the available and appropriate controlling
agency.


The appropriate response in an emergency is to dial up 121.5 and not worry
about who answers. :-)


Not if you're already receiving flight following. If you're on flight
following you're already talking to a controller that knows where you are.
There's no point in changing to 121.5.

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Which was exactly the context in which I gave the response about 121.5. I
can't help that Paul gave an answer that was completely out of context.


No it wasn't. The context in which you gave the response about 121.5 was
one in which the pilot was receiving flight following.

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Yes, here is the text to which I responded:

"In addition to the above, using Flight Following means that you are in
direct contact with ATC should you develop some sort of in-flight
emergency. You can therefore communicate that difficulty immediately
without having to search for the available and appropriate controlling
agency."

The suggestion is clearly made that if you AREN'T using flight following
then your alternative is to "search for the available and appropriate
conrolling agency" to call. My comment is that if you AREN'T using flight
following, you have a much better alternative to trying to look up a
frequency for the ATC in your area - and that is to dial up 121.5.

This really isn't that hard to follow.


And yet you were unable to follow it.

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
Jot down freqs as you're handed off. It annoys them if they expect you to
call and you've forgotten, or mixed up, the freq. It happens.

Flip flop radios are a god-send when you go to a new frequency and nobody
answers. You can just flip back to the old frequency. Of course, since
nothing is perfect and everybody needs a backup, you should still write
down frequencies.

hehe Wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't a common occurrence. I've
lost a frequency a couple times when I've left it to contact FSS and had to
try a couple different frequencies to find them. Even copying the hand-off
frequencies down can result in a kneeboard full of numbers, and temporary
confusion, in a flight through busy airspace. Don't forget to cross them
off.

moo

Paul Tomblin wrote:

In a previous article, Matt Whiting said:

Paul Tomblin wrote:

In a previous article, Matt Whiting said:


Which was exactly the context in which I gave the response about 121.5.
I can't help that Paul gave an answer that was completely out of context.

"Completely out of context"? What sort of drugs are you on? You
contradicted somebody who was saying that an advantage of flight following
is that you're already talking to somebody in the event of emergency to
say that the correct thing to do in an emergency is to "dial in 121.5".

conrolling agency" to call. My comment is that if you AREN'T using
flight following, you have a much better alternative to trying to look
up a frequency for the ATC in your area - and that is to dial up 121.5.


You didn't say "if you aren't using flight following", you said "the
correct response in an emergency". Which, unless you've redefined the
english language when I wans't looking, means "an emergency", not "an
emergency when you aren't getting flight following".

Say what you mean, or don't complain if people correct you.


Sorry, it was pretty obvious ... at least to me and most everyone else.
I'll try to be more explicit next time so that you can understand as well.

Matt

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

In addition to the above, using Flight Following means that you are in
direct contact with ATC should you develop some sort of in-flight
emergency. You can therefore communicate that difficulty immediately
without having to search for the available and appropriate controlling
agency.


The appropriate response in an emergency is to dial up 121.5 and not worry
about who answers. :-)



Not if you're already receiving flight following. If you're on flight
following you're already talking to a controller that knows where you are.
There's no point in changing to 121.5.

Agreed. See my reply to Paul. My point is that the alternative to FF
isn't trying to look up the "appropriate" frequency during an emergency,
it is to dial in 121.5. Obviously, if you are already talking to ATC
you don't change frequencies. This seemed so obvious as to not need
stating, but I guess at least a couple of people didn't catch that.

Matt

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Which was exactly the context in which I gave the response about 121.5. I
can't help that Paul gave an answer that was completely out of context.



No it wasn't. The context in which you gave the response about 121.5 was
one in which the pilot was receiving flight following.



No, read it again.

Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote in
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:

Not if you're already receiving flight following. If you're on flight
following you're already talking to a controller that knows where you
are. There's no point in changing to 121.5.

Agreed. See my reply to Paul. My point is that the alternative to FF
isn't trying to look up the "appropriate" frequency during an emergency,
it is to dial in 121.5. Obviously, if you are already talking to ATC you
don't change frequencies. This seemed so obvious as to not need stating,
but I guess at least a couple of people didn't catch that.

What about very busy airspace? Would they ask you to change frequency or
everyone else?

moo

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Which was exactly the context in which I gave the response about 121.5.
I
can't help that Paul gave an answer that was completely out of context.



No it wasn't. The context in which you gave the response about 121.5
was
one in which the pilot was receiving flight following.

Matt:
Now we all get your point, but your scenario was not obvious at all (I'm
just saying this as you are stating that it was "pretty obvious" to everyone
else what your scenario was, but it really wasn't).
The point is that flight following is better cause you are already talking
to somebody and knows where you are. No radios to change. Your message was
easily understood as "you always need to change to 121.5 in an emergency".
Use better english next time