Flight Following

Can someone explain to a new pilot (who's never used it!) what flight
following is all about and how to actually get it? Thanks!

wrote:

Can someone explain to a new pilot (who's never used it!) what flight
following is all about and how to actually get it? Thanks!


It basically means that you call an ATC facility and ask for flight
following. Many places offer it "automatically" these days. I flew
from ELM to JHW for lunch this past weekend and Elmira departure "handed
me off" to Cleveland Center without me even asking. I called them up
and checked in as I would on an IFR flight. The word flight following
was never even mentioned.

I tend to fly IFR almost all of the time, but decided not to Saturday
since I wasn't flying near any SUA.

I'll let one of the ATC types here give you the details from the ATC end
as I don't know what all it means from that perspective.


Matt

In a previous article, " said:
Can someone explain to a new pilot (who's never used it!) what flight
following is all about and how to actually get it? Thanks!

It means that sort-of like an IFR flight, ATC will provide traffic
advisories on a work-load permitting basis (which means that they may
point out some traffic but then not point out the one that's actually
heading straight for you because they got busy with some IFR traffic), and
they may hand you off to another facility as you leave their airspace, or
they may just say "frequency change approved, squawk VFR", again depending
on workload (and apparently, how much they hate the guys in the next
facility).

For a VFR-only pilot, it means you have another pair of eyes looking out
for you (or half a pair of eyes, sometimes), and it gives you an
experience with the system that will help when you get your instrument
rating. It does not mean you can fly head down in the cockpit or relax
your scan for conflicting traffic.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"using Outlook to read e-mail is like licking public toilets; using Outlook
with a virus checker is like taking antibiotics and then licking public
toilets (it might work, but it's hardly optimal" -- David Megginson

" wrote in message
oups.com...
Can someone explain to a new pilot (who's never used it!) what flight
following is all about and how to actually get it? Thanks!

Flight following is a colloquial term for VFR radar traffic advisories (see
the AIM's Pilot/Controller Glossary). The concept is discussed in the AIM
section 4.1 (Services Available to Pilots), and the phraseology for
requesting it is discussed in section 4.2 (Radio Communications Phraseology
and Techniques). You can find the AIM online at
http://www.faa.gov/atpubs/AIM/index.htm.

--Gary

Paul Tomblin wrote:
In a previous article, " said:

Can someone explain to a new pilot (who's never used it!) what flight
following is all about and how to actually get it? Thanks!


It means that sort-of like an IFR flight, ATC will provide traffic
advisories on a work-load permitting basis (which means that they may
point out some traffic but then not point out the one that's actually
heading straight for you because they got busy with some IFR traffic), and
they may hand you off to another facility as you leave their airspace, or
they may just say "frequency change approved, squawk VFR", again depending
on workload (and apparently, how much they hate the guys in the next
facility).

For a VFR-only pilot, it means you have another pair of eyes looking out
for you (or half a pair of eyes, sometimes), and it gives you an
experience with the system that will help when you get your instrument
rating. It does not mean you can fly head down in the cockpit or relax
your scan for conflicting traffic.

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.
A follow-up question, however: How do request flight following when you
are not actually doing a cross-country? Let's say that my flight
intentions are to fly 50 NM away from my home base in order do
sight-seeing and photo shooting, turn around (not land), and go back
home. Do I simply tell ATC of those intentions of doing nothing more
than a round robin flight? Whenever I have ask for FF, the controller
always asks for a destination. What are you supposed to say?

Arnold Sten

If you ever departed a class B or class C airport VFR, you had flight
following.

I start like this:

Me: Bradley Approach - N6480R request.

Bradley: N6480R - go ahead.

Me: Bradley Approacy - Cherokee 6480R is 5 miles south of Spencer, VFR to
Atlantic City at two thousand, climbing to four thousand five hundred.

Bradley: N6480R - squawk 5236 and ident.

Me: 5236

wait - wait - wait

Bradley: N6480R radar contact 6 miles south of Spencer, altimeter 2996.

Me: 2996

I now have flight following. Now the tough part is listening for when they
call you. You have to be paying attention for your call-sign. At some point
they will instruct you to contact someone else on another frequency, or will
terminate flight following.

I've never been denied flight following, but have been terminated when
moving from one center to another. From what I've been told, the controller
would rather have me on frequency than not.




" wrote in message
oups.com...
Can someone explain to a new pilot (who's never used it!) what flight
following is all about and how to actually get it? Thanks!

In article ,
says...

Besides traffic advisories, it also means you are in two-way communication
with a facility at all times. Some pilots find this a hassle. It's up to you.
Personally, I prefer to have someone at the other end of my PTT button as
much as possible, and the advisories are useful and reassuring - though I
agree with the caveat mentioned above - the callouts cannot be taken to
replace your own scan for separation. They're not required to give you
VFR flight following - you're supposed to ask "if available". Then, as
mentioned, it's "as workload permits".

G Faris

"Greg Farris" wrote in message
...
Besides traffic advisories, it also means you are in two-way communication
with a facility at all times. Some pilots find this a hassle. It's up to
you.

Good point. In some ways, that can actually *reduce* the communication
hassle. If you're headed for Class C or D airspace while getting flight
following, you're already in two-way communication with ATC, so you already
have permission to enter the airspace (unless ATC instructs you not to, of
course). And if you're headed for Class B, although you still need a
clearance there, ATC will often just volunteer the clearance when you're
getting flight following.

--Gary

"Arnold Sten" 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.
A follow-up question, however: How do request flight following when you
are not actually doing a cross-country? Let's say that my flight
intentions are to fly 50 NM away from my home base in order do
sight-seeing and photo shooting, turn around (not land), and go back home.
Do I simply tell ATC of those intentions of doing nothing more than a
round robin flight? Whenever I have ask for FF, the controller always asks
for a destination. What are you supposed to say?


Just tell them you'll be taking photos or doing airwork or whatever.

In article kYEke.5$SV3.2@trnddc03, says...

Me: 5236

wait - wait - wait



LOL - that's about it!

G Faris