Anticipating DEP/APP frequencies & FF ?

[Althar93]

Hello all,

I decided to plan & fly KSBP (San Luis Obispo) to KSBA (Santa Barbara) for practice with FF. I checked out the chart supplements prior to the flight as well as SkyVector to try and anticipate the departure frequency I would get. I was initially expecting Santa Barbara Departure (which is strange by itself as it was also technically my destination) with 127.725; to my surprise however GND gave me a departure frequency of '120.55', which threw me off : it wasn't on the chart supplements for San Luis Obispo, & with only the frequency, I wasn't sure what to call the ATC on my initial contact.

As a result, I have one question regarding DEP/APP frequencies and while I am at it, a second one regarding FF :

*How on earth do you anticipate DEP/APP frequencies & how do you know what to call the ATC provided you are only given the frequency if you do "not know" the area.
*What is the correct way of changing destinations mid-flight when under FF; I went ahead and asked to terminate FF with my intentions to redirect to a nearby airport : this seemed to surprise the ATC so my only guess is I went about it with a non-standard procedure. Did I need to inform the ATC of my intention to redirect? Did I need to cancel FF?

Thanks,

[zerofay32]

As far as the DEP freq, I too would have expected 127.72 but at the same time being given a different freq should be a non-issue for you as a pilot. Just be prepared for the preflight planning to change once you actually get in the airplane. 120.55 is a Santa Barbra App freq so maybe the controller wanted you on a frequency that would get you all the way to SBA with out a freq change, or maybe that is just the way the sectors are set up on PE. Whatever the reason the big thing is to just go with the flow.

In regards to flight following, all you needed to do was tell the controller that you were changing you destination to "XXX" no need to cancel unless you wanted to. The controllers will always act surprised. RW, they would ask you for a reason for the change to have it on record "just in case" (happens all the time at my work as we are always changing where we're going).

[Althar93]

Thanks for your reply,

I get that you have to go with the flow, what I do not quite get, is how one can infer the name of the departure/approach from the frequency if one does not know the frequency by heart? Are we safe to assumes the names as per the chart supplements : e.g. I was expecting Santa Barbara Departure as per the chart supplements for San Luis Obispo; I got given a different frequency which did not appear on this chart, so without knowing the area very well or the frequencies, I could have been handed off to LA Center approach which also features on the chart supplement for KSBP.

As for the flight following, what you wrote does make sense & I will keep it in mind for the future.

[182BL]

I don't know if this is correct, but if I ever get given a frequency and i'm not sure who i'm contacting i'll just omit the name of the control center on initial contact. For example "Depature, callsign, with you 2000" or "Approach, callsign, with you 2000". If you're on the right frequency they'll know you're talking to them and they'll usually reply with the center name so from then on you know who you're talking to.

[Keith Smith]

Please skip the "with you," it has no meaning or benefit.

OP, don't try to pre plan dep freqs or the freqs you'll get enroute. The sectorization we use is different and as a result so are the freqs.

Also, I do the same flight in the real world over and over and the freqs are never quite the same on each flight.

Do your best with the facility name, but don't agonize over it. The one thing you can get ahead of time is the first radar facility name by looking at the name of the facility provided in the app or dep section for the airport.

For example, SBP is in santa barbara tracon, and so is SMX. You can be reasonably sure that the facility name is santa barbara approach.

Controllers are supposed to say the name of the facility when handing from tower to radar if the facility name doesn't match the tower. So, at SBP and SMX, they should say "contact santa barbara departure" whereas at SBA, it's just "contact departure."

[Althar93]

Controllers are supposed to say the name of the facility when handing from tower to radar if the facility name doesn't match the tower

Aahaa! Thanks a lot Keith, oddly enough, this makes complete sense to me.

I guess from what you guys are all saying it ultimately does not matter what I call ATC that much, the only main benefit being helping the ATC know what screen to look at ( I guess that this mainly applies to PE as a single controller might be covering an unusually large area ).

Anyhow, I have been flying jump-in routes in parallel of working my way up the CATs, trying to not spend too long before the flight over-thinking every potential eventuality & procedure - if the CATs are very good for getting an introduction to the various airspaces and procedures there is obviously nothing better (I find) than throwing oneself at the deep end & trying unusual/weird things until it all makes sense.

Thanks again all!