Flight Following: untowered, void time, dep/app, opt-out?

[uncertifiedpilot]

Hi all,

I'm shaping up for using Flight Following on PE for the first time. After studying most forum posts, five questions remain:

1) Are we allowed to request Flight Following on the ground, from an untowered airport by contacting nearest Departure/Approach/Center? Or should we rather contact ATC after departure?

2) When Flight Following is requested on the ground (irrespective of class of airport), would there be any 'void time'? In other words, if I receive Flight Following service from the Delivery/Ground controller, but I would takeoff after 30 minutes due to whatever reason I did not relay to the controller, would that be an issue?

3) When we request Flight Following in-air, just after departure from an untowered airport, should we check-in with the Departure or Approach frequency of the nearest Charlie? Or should we preferably check-in with Center? I know that in this case it wouldn't practically matter, as I would be talking to the same PE controller anyways. Yet I like to know what is proper procedure.

4) When I plan to depart from SNA and simply contact Ground for departure (without having checked in to Delivery first), would I automatically/implicitly receive Flight Following irrespectively? I heard Peter say something about it during one of his streams; that Flight Following in Charlie's and Bravo's is always the case; that Flight Following in Charlie's/Bravo's is not an opt-in but an opt-out. In that case, when I would announce to SNA Ground 'blabla VFR departure to the South' as I would on a regular Delta airport, would the Ground controller then also ask for my equipment suffix, planned cruising altitude and destination airport?

5) When at a Charlie aiport, and I don't want Flight Following, would I just check-in with Ground and skip Clearance? Or should I check-in with Clearance always, but add 'negative flight following' to get a squawk code for my departure only?

Thanks!
Tim

[Kyle.Sanders]

Hi all,

I'm shaping up for using Flight Following on PE for the first time. After studying most forum posts, five questions remain:

1) Are we allowed to request Flight Following on the ground, from an untowered airport by contacting nearest Departure/Approach/Center? Or should we rather contact ATC after departure?

Contact After departure for VFR flights from an uncontrolled field.

2) When Flight Following is requested on the ground (irrespective of class of airport), would there be any 'void time'? In other words, if I receive Flight Following service from the Delivery/Ground controller, but I would takeoff after 30 minutes due to whatever reason I did not relay to the controller, would that be an issue?

Void times only apply to IFR departures.
VFR flight plans aren't given to ATC. They are only fowarded to FSS... So you may want to contact FSS (RW) to let them know.

3) When we request Flight Following in-air, just after departure from an untowered airport, should we check-in with the Departure or Approach frequency of the nearest Charlie? Or should we preferably check-in with Center? I know that in this case it wouldn't practically matter, as I would be talking to the same PE controller anyways. Yet I like to know what is proper procedure.

I use Airnav for the airport I'm departing to find out what freq and who to contact. In the case of L35 - LA Center 126.35
"Airport Communications
CTAF/UNICOM: 
122.725
WX AWOS-3: 
135.925 (909-585-4033)
* APCH/DEP SERVICE PROVIDED BY LOS ANGELES ARTCC ON FREQS 126.35/290.2 (BARSTOW RCAG)."

4) When I plan to depart from SNA and simply contact Ground for departure (without having checked in to Delivery first), would I automatically/implicitly receive Flight Following irrespectively? I heard Peter say something about it during one of his streams; that Flight Following in Charlie's and Bravo's is always the case; that Flight Following in Charlie's/Bravo's is not an opt-in but an opt-out. In that case, when I would announce to SNA Ground 'blabla VFR departure to the South' as I would on a regular Delta airport, would the Ground controller then also ask for my equipment suffix, planned cruising altitude and destination airport?

Departing a C or B airport, always contact the lowest controller (usually Clearance) to get departure instructions.

If you don't say you want advisories/flight following, the controller assumes you don't want them but radar services are not optional in these classes of airspace. You will get radar services until you leave the C or B airspace and then be terminated.

If you say negative radar services, that means you will still get radar services but you plane to remain clear of the outer shelves. So you will get a squawk code but possibly no departure frequency. Once you clear the inner surface area, you will be terminated.

A TRSA airspace like KPSP is treated like a Class C airspace unless you say "negative TRSA" or "negative radar"... You have the option to Opt out and then you can just skip clearance go straight to Ground and report to them.

5) When at a Charlie aiport, and I don't want Flight Following, would I just check-in with Ground and skip Clearance? Or should I check-in with Clearance always, but add 'negative flight following' to get a squawk code for my departure only?

Thanks!
Tim

See above.

[HRutila]

Class C services, which includes radar flight following, are automatically provided to VFR departures within the Class C airspace, and the uncharted Class C Outer Area. Once in the outer area, you may voluntarily terminate this service (AIM 4-1-18 c). You may not terminate radar service while within the boundaries of the Class C shelf or surface area. All departures at Class C airports should contact Clearance Delivery unless otherwise instructed in an ATIS message, or if common practice at the airport dictates otherwise. The consequence if you forget is a simple instruction to contact Ground. (In other words, there is no major consequence, and this is something people stress out about way too much.)

Flight following may be requested from the ground at many towered airports. This practice is encouraged but cannot always be provided. "Skyhawk 1234, request flight following to Ontario at 3,500." Note how I included the aircraft type in the call sign prefix, saving time on the radio (AIM 4-1-18 a 5 (b)).

Do not call overlying approach controls or centers for flight following while you're still on the ground. There is no reference to this in the AIM, but I can assure you this is the correct procedure.

There is no void time involved with any of this; however, you should always update your intentions with ATC if you have requested them to provide you a service and no longer need it.