PilotEdge Forums

Sorry I'm a noob so I have to ask some noob questions sometimes. I tried to search and didn't find an answer, unless I missed it.

The other day I was flying on pe vfr. I would turn my autopilot on and off and fly around basically sight seeing on my way. I came to a rather tall mountain peak while on auto pilot that I'm not sure I would clear at the alt that I filed, 6500 ft. So I flew around.....how much altitude change is allowed flying vfr without contacting atc?

Also if the weather is looking gloomy and you file ifr, can you switch to vfr along the way if the weather clears up? Or the other way around, switch from vfr to ifr if the weather turns bad?

Also I would assume filing vfr, if you wanted to you could turn your gps on and enter the fixes as if you were flying ifr?

VFR doesn't require a flight plan. In the real world, the flight plan is sent to FSS, not the ATC. On PE, you file it so that PEAWARE.com can track your flight if you "WANT". Therefore, you could have flown over the mountain as long as your altitudes wouldn't have busted any airspace that requires communication prior to entering it. (Note- when you file a VFR flight plan on PE, you still need to let the controller know important information on call because they don't get the strip)

You can ALWAYS switch from VFR to IFR and visa versa.
Side note- look up "VFR on top vs VFR Over the top"

I think you would greatly benefit by going through the pilot rating/training program provided by the network.
More than pilot rating/training programs, there is a GREAT series of videos on the site.
Both, the rating/training program and workshops can be found on the main site>pilot center area.

(Note- I'm not talking about "real world IFR" or "real world VFR" series.... But if you have the time and $, I do suggest these after you run through the other two series I mentioned.)

Good luck! Stick with it! A lot to learn but take your time and ask your questions! You will find a lot of great resources here in these forums!

I did request flight following. And I have been watching the workshop videos. It's a lot to take in though. But I'm having a ball. Only two flights so far on pe, but I watch YouTube and do research and learn more everyday. Thanks for your help

Joe, it might help you to understand that ATC is responsible for separating IFR traffic from IFR traffic in everything but Class G airspace. However, they only separate IFR from VFR traffic in Class B and Class C airspace. VFR is separated from VFR only in Class B airspace.

Why is this important? Because understanding those facts will help you realize why you don't need to get permission from ATC to change altitudes while you're VFR, cruising in Class E airspace (that's where you'll be most of the time). Unless you hear, "advise prior to any altitude changes," you can have at it! Certainly, you can let ATC know you're changing altitude, but that's not the same as requesting an altitude change. You'd only request a new altitude if you had a hard altitude restriction (such as you might have in Class B/C airspace) or if you were IFR.

Start with the big picture fundamentals and the little tactical stuff like this will take care of itself. Also, as Kyle said, it's a misnomer that putting something in a VFR flight plan means that it has been communicated to ATC. The ultimate demonstration of this fallacy is if someone calls clearance delivery for "VFR as filed." When we eventually pick ourselves off the floor and catch our breath, the next thing you're going to hear is a speech about controllers not seeing VFR flight plans