How to Request Flight Following

What flight following is

Flight following is the everyday name for radar traffic advisories given to a VFR pilot. The controller watches your target and tells you about other aircraft close enough to deserve your attention (AIM 4-1-15). The Pilot/Controller Glossary files it under “traffic advisories”.

For a VFR flight it is optional: you ask for it. The controller may say no, or stop the service later, because radar limits, traffic and workload decide what they can provide (AIM 4-1-15).

Before you key the mic

1. Know where you are going and how high. The controller needs a destination and an altitude. Decide both before you call.
2. Find the frequency. Use the approach or center frequency for the area you are flying in. The Chart Supplement lists them, and your sectional chart shows many of them.
3. Have something to write with. The squawk code comes back in the next transmission, and you will set it while flying.
4. Listen first. Approach frequencies are busy. Wait for a gap, and don't call in the middle of an exchange between the controller and another pilot.

How the call is built

Part	Example	Why it is there
Who you are calling	Springfield Approach	The facility you are talking to
Who you are	November One Two Three Alpha Zulu	Your full callsign on first contact
What you are flying	Cessna 172	Tells the controller your speed, and what other pilots should look for
Where you are	ten miles southwest of Springfield	Lets the controller find your target on the scope
Your altitude	at three thousand five hundred	Your altitude now, to the nearest hundred feet. Still climbing? Add what you are climbing to: “two thousand eight hundred, climbing to three thousand five hundred” (AIM 4-1-20)
What you want	request VFR flight following to Riverside	The request and your destination in one phrase

These are close to the items the AIM lists for a VFR pilot calling approach control: position, altitude, callsign, aircraft type, transponder code if you have been given one, destination and a request for traffic information. For aircraft passing through the area it lists the same items, with destination and/or route of flight (AIM 4-1-18).

Busy frequency? Start short: “Springfield Approach, November One Two Three Alpha Zulu, VFR request.” When the controller answers, give the rest. The AIM's contact procedure lets you name the type of message first when the request is long (AIM 4-2-3).

What changes after “radar contact”

“Radar contact” means the controller has identified you on their display, and radar service continues until it is terminated (Pilot/Controller Glossary). From then on:

• Stay on the frequency. The AIM asks you to monitor it at all times while you receive the service (AIM 4-1-15).
• Tell the controller when you change cruising altitude. The AIM asks VFR pilots to inform the controller when changing VFR cruising altitude (AIM 4-1-15).
• Answer every traffic call: “traffic in sight” or “negative contact”.
• Keep looking. The service does not take see and avoid away from you (AIM 4-1-15), and the controller will not always be able to tell you about every aircraft near you (Pilot/Controller Glossary, Traffic Advisories).
• Vectors only if you ask. Traffic advisories do not include vectors around traffic unless you request them (AIM 4-1-15).
• Acknowledge a handoff before you change to the new frequency, and call the next controller there. Changing without a word leaves the controller wondering whether your radio has failed (AIM 4-2-3).
• Say goodbye before you leave. When you no longer want the service, tell the controller before you change frequency, then set 1200 (AIM 4-1-15). That is how you cancel flight following.

Common mistakes

• No destination. The controller has to ask where you are going before they can plan for you.
• Not ready for the code. It comes straight back. Have the pen ready before you call.
• Pressing IDENT without being asked. The AIM says to use IDENT only when ATC requests it (AIM 4-1-20).
• Passing through 7500, 7600 or 7700 while you set a new code. Those codes trigger alarms on the ground, even for a moment. The AIM's example: to go from 2700 to 7200, switch to 2200 first, not to 7700 (AIM 4-1-20).
• Treating radar contact as a Class B clearance. It is not. Class B needs its own ATC clearance before you enter, whatever the weather (AIM 3-2-3).
• Leaving without a word. Tell the controller before you change frequency.

FAQ

Do I have to use flight following?

No. For a VFR flight it is a service you request (AIM 4-1-15). It is worth asking for on a cross-country: a controller watching the radar can tell you about traffic before you see it.

Can the controller say no?

Yes. Radar coverage, traffic, workload and frequency congestion can all stop a controller from providing the service, and the decision is theirs (AIM 4-1-15). If you hear “unable”, try again later or on the next facility's frequency.

Can I ask for it before takeoff?

At a towered airport, often yes: the AIM encourages departing VFR pilots to request radar traffic information on their first call to Ground or Clearance Delivery, with the direction they will fly (AIM 4-1-18).

What does “ident” mean?

The controller wants you to press the IDENT button on the transponder once, so your target stands out on their display (Pilot/Controller Glossary). Do it only when asked (AIM 4-1-20).