Flight Training - August 2012 - 42

»YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS PIC
TECHNIQUE
For all the safety that it provides, flight following does not relieve you of the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft. And it does not mean you can sail blithely into Class B or Class C airspace, even if you have been in contact with ATC. Know the boundaries of Class B and C areas as well as the location of restricted and prohibited airspace.

FLIGHT FOLLOWING
Another set of eyes in the sky
» By Jill W. Tallman
ILLUSTRATION BY CHARLES FLOYD

» FILE A FLIGHT PLAN ANYWAY
Many pilots have been known to say, “I don’t file a flight plan. I get flight following.” You should still file and open a flight plan even if you are planning to request VFR traffic advisories, for a couple of very good reasons. You might not get flight following once you launch, especially in or near busy airspace. Also, flight following does not guarantee search and rescue services. If you were to fly out of a sector’s radar coverage area and something happens, who would know where you are?

FLIGHT FOLLOWING—THE PILOTS’ vernacular for VFR traffic advisories—is a useful tool for making your way through the National Airspace System. On a VFR flight, you can ask air traffic control to watch for other traffic in your vicinity. As ATC’s primary responsibility is to maintain separation for IFR traffic, flight following is available to VFR pilots on a workload-permitting basis.

PLUS View the video.

»THE TECHNIQUE
1. MAKE YOUR INITIAL CALL. Start with the approach control or center for where you are. As with all communications with ATC, follow the standard format: Who you are, where you are, and what you need. Make it easy for ATC to find you on the radar screen. Give your altitude and position relative to something such as a VOR or a radial from a VOR. Sample call: “Potomac Approach, November One-Two-Three-Four-Five, 10 miles west of the Frederick VOR, 7,500 feet. Request flight following.” ATC will ask for your aircraft type and destination.

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2. ATC WILL LOOK FOR YOU ON RADAR. They will issue you a transponder code to squawk. Dial it in, and remain on frequency to receive traffic alerts and other information. Remember that flight following depends on radar coverage. Adhering to cloud clearance requirements, choose an altitude high enough that you will be seen, such as above the IFR minimum en route altitude, if possible. If you have to descend, the controller may lose radar coverage and will advise you of that, and may provide a frequency for the next sector.

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3. THE CONTROLLER WILL CALL OUT RADAR TARGETS THAT MIGHT CONFLICT WITH YOUR ROUTE OF FLIGHT. Sample call: “Cessna Two-Three-Four, traffic, 11 o’clock, three miles, VFR, northbound, altitude indicates 4,500.” You will acknowledge the transmission by saying either “Cessna Two-Three-Four, looking,” or “Cessna Two-Three-Four, traffic in sight.” The controller may follow up with a transmission that the traffic is not a factor, but if it becomes a collision risk, he or she will issue a safety advisory that may include a suggestion to turn, climb, or descend.

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Flight Training - August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2012