Does an IFR flight plan automatically closes your VFR flight plan?

F

Firepac

Pre-Flight
Joined
Sep 5, 2017
Messages
43
Display Name
Display name:
Firepac
If I filed and activated a VFR flight plan but suddenly had to pick up an IFR flight plan en route does that automatically void my VFR flight plan?
 
Pretty sure the answer is no. VFR flight plans need to be closed with FSS, regardless of whether you also have an IFR plan. Under some (very few IMO) circumstances, it is advantageous to have both.
 
So if I cancel IFR some times later can I resume my original VFR flight plan?
 
I would imagine you would have to cancel your vfr flight plan before picking up your ifr one.
 
Firepac said:
Even a pop-up IFR?
Click to expand...

You should be talking to the same controller when you request the pop-up. You are either VFR or IFR not both. You can request cancellation of IFR and to remain on frequency for advisories.
 
Grum.Man said:
You should be talking to the same controller when you request the pop-up. You are either VFR or IFR not both. You can request cancellation of IFR and to remain on frequency for advisories.
Click to expand...
Yeah but you don't have to be under flight following if you have an active VFR file plan.
 
I haven't done a VFR flight plan in a (double digit) number of years, but IIRC, the VFR plan is really just there to provide search & rescue somewhere to look if you don't show up at your destination as expected. It isn't really a hard routing plan and I think it's been discussed here before that ATC doesn't even have visibility to the plan in their normal operations, so it's likely they wouldn't even know of your active VFR plan. Only issue would be if FAA's systems have some sort of data issue with multiple active plans for a single tail number at any given time.
 
Firepac said:
Yeah but you don't have to be under flight following if you have an active VFR file plan.
Click to expand...

Oh gotcha, so you just filed a plan and activated it through FF or something. In that case, yes you would need to close the VFR flight plan.
 
Firepac said:
Yeah but you don't have to be under flight following if you have an active VFR file plan.
Click to expand...

No you don't. You don't ever have to be under Flight Following. Having a VFR Flight Plan or not ain't got nuthin to do with it. There are of course places where you gotta be talking to ATC. Like Class B's and C's. Flight Following is provided by default while you are getting Class B and C service. And TRSA's, but you don't have to get TRSA service if you don't want to.
 
Grum.Man said:
Oh gotcha, so you just filed a plan and activated it through FF or something. In that case, yes you would need to close the VFR flight plan.
Click to expand...
Getting flight following does not normally activate a VFR flight plan. It's necessary to contact Flight Service for that. (I'm not sure about special situations, such as a DVFR flight plan for example.)
 
Your pop up IFR has nothing to do with the VFR you filed. ATC and AFSS don’t communicate with each other that well. Therefore, if you have a VFR that you’ve filed, even activated, ATC doesn’t know. They’re not gonna pick up the landline to check either. So, they’ll issue the IFR and your VFR still remains active. At your destination, if it’s a towered field, they remove your IFR while your VFR still remains active. YOU have to cancel that through AFSS.
 
Last edited:
Velocity173 said:
if it’s a towered field, they remove your IFR while your VFR still remains active. YOU have to cancel that through AFSS.
Click to expand...

It's amazing how many military pilots call ground control and ask that their VFR flight plan be cancelled...okay its the Army, they are the worst offenders. First of all "that ain't my job" and second, it is closed out automatically when I call the arrival time to base operations.
 
Timbeck2 said:
It's amazing how many military pilots call ground control and ask that their VFR flight plan be cancelled...okay its the Army, they are the worst offenders. First of all "that ain't my job" and second, it is closed out automatically when I call the arrival time to base operations.
Click to expand...

Lol! I can believe that. One time I was flying down to Pensacola in the back of a Black Hawk for some lunch (McGuire’s). Two IP / SPs up front and one calls AFSS after landing to cancel our IFR flight plan. I was like what????
 
Last edited:
I can assure you your characterization of Army pilots and flight plans...is correct...20 plus years and never could figure it out...
 
While we're on the subject - do the Marines and Navy flyers realize that "interrogative" is four syllables when they could just use two for "question"?
 
Timbeck2 said:
While we're on the subject - do the Marines and Navy flyers realize that "interrogative" is four syllables when they could just use two for "question"?
Click to expand...
That reminds me: Why do law-enforcement personnel like the word "individual" so much? Why not just "person"?

"Individual" is so nonspecific. Individual what? Person? Dog? Elephant?
 
Timbeck2 said:
While we're on the subject - do the Marines and Navy flyers realize that "interrogative" is four syllables when they could just use two for "question"?
Click to expand...


Yeah that was common for USMC when I was in. Don’t know why “question” is even used really. I just say “approach, crusader 66.” You get the “go ahead” and then ask the question.

To be fair on the Army guys with the closing of VFR flight plans, I have seen some non standard stuff on the part of base ops. Sometimes they’d forward our flight plans to AFSS and other times they wouldn’t. I’ve called AFSS to close out my VFR and they’d say they either didn’t have anything on me or they already got a call from XYZ base ops closing it out. Been called by AFSS because I was overdue as well. No excuse to tell a tower whether VFR or IFR though. Only time I’ve done that if I was on a “local VFR” and I terminated flight earlier than planned. In that case, I’d tell ground to close out the VFR.
 
Velocity173 said:
Yeah that was common for USMC when I was in. Don’t know why “question” is even used really. I just say “approach, crusader 66.” You get the “go ahead” and then ask the question.

To be fair on the Army guys with the closing of VFR flight plans, I have seen some non standard stuff on the part of base ops. Sometimes they’d forward our flight plans to AFSS and other times they wouldn’t. I’ve called AFSS to close out my VFR and they’d say they either didn’t have anything on me or they already got a call from XYZ base ops closing it out. Been called by AFSS because I was overdue as well. No excuse to tell a tower whether VFR or IFR though. Only time I’ve done that if I was on a “local VFR” and I terminated flight earlier than planned. In that case, I’d tell ground to close out the VFR.
Click to expand...

I heard interrogative at El Toro. I don't think ever again after that at 4 different Navy/Marine facilities. Do you remember getting it at both Beaufort and Miramar? Maybe it was a 3rd MAW thang.
 
luvflyin said:
I heard interrogative at El Toro. I don't think ever again after that at 4 different Navy/Marine facilities. Do you remember getting it at both Beaufort and Miramar? Maybe it was a 3rd MAW thang.
Click to expand...

Yeah it was common. Heard it mostly on approach at Beaufort. Miramar was GCA so no real opportunity to get asked a question. Futenma tower, I don’t recall. I agree with Tim in that I only recall hearing it from VV /VM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top