PilotEdge Forums

This morning, I decided to fly KSGU to KLAS (it's only about 100nm, but a nice simple VOR-navigation practice, culminating in a practice ILS landing).

Anyway, I filed a VFR flight plan and then shortly after realized that I had no idea what the procedure is to request a VFR flight following... How do you find out which 'center' to contact to initiative the following? What is the correct thing to say? Do I request the following prior to taxi, or once I'm level and cruising? Do they have access to my filed VFR flight-plan and what services will they provide in relation to that plan (if any) ?

PE has proven to be an amazing training ground which I'm trying to take full advantage of... Hopefully my questions aren't unique to me and others will benefit from the answers as well. Thanks again!

ATC doesn't see VFR flight plans, so that doesn't affect your ability to get flight following. To find the nearest facility, check the communications section of the airport details for your departure airport (or failing that, the nearest airport with published approach procedures). In the case of SGU, it says:

APCH/DEP SERVICE PROVIDED BY LOS ANGELES ARTCC ON FREQS 124.2/343.6 (CEDAR CITY RCAG).

So, that would be "Los Angeles Center" on 124.20.

As with most transactions, the correct thing to do is to say who you are, where you are and what you want. "LA Center, Cessna 123AB, 15 southwest of St George airport, request advisories to Vegas at 10,500."

The new VFR training program (in development, a few weeks out) will have a scenario for airborne pickup of flight following, as well as picking it up from the ground. Right now, the V-2 rating covers picking up flight following from the ground (SNA to ONT).

Search the forum for "postage stamp" and you'll see 3 threads talking about how to look up enroute freqs: search.php?keywords=postage+stamp

Edit: 4 threads, including this one

THANK YOU for the fantastic reply, Keith!!!!!! Exactly what I needed.