Filing a Flight Plan

Do You File a Flight Plan

  • I file only for cross country flights

    Votes: 21 43.8%

  • I never file for local flights within 50nm of home base

    Votes: 10 20.8%

  • I file every time I fly

    Votes: 2 4.2%

  • I file when destination requires an overnight stay

    Votes: 2 4.2%

  • I let folks know were I'm going and when I'll be back so no need to file

    Votes: 14 29.2%

  • I file only when using flight following

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I file a good portion of the time

    Votes: 4 8.3%

  • I only fly IFR..:)

    Votes: 8 16.7%
  • Total voters
    48
luvflyin said:
Hadn't heard of that before. I wanted do the demo but didn't because you have to give your email and phone number.
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Who says you have to give them your email and phone number.??

When I come across anything that wants personal information, I just make it up. :lol::lol:
 
IFR a vast majority of the time.

But when VFR, it's only because I'm doing pattern work or something, and I don't file a flight plan to fly to a local airport.
 
James331 said:
For longer VFR stuff, for the extra set of eyes, for airspace and also because it something to do on a longer leg, plus if I need to pull a IFR they it’s easier.
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Gotcha. That will get you the benefits of a VFR Flight Plan because if they have an unexpected loss of Radio and Radar Contact with you they will initiate SAR which is what a VFR Flight is for. But if Flight Following gets terminated, it is terminated. You are no longer being 'followed.' You could have to land off airport a minute later and unless you have a VFR Flight Plan or some equivalent, it may be a very long time before help is on the way.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Yeah, that's what I meant as well. If I am VFR, I will use flight following but don't bother filing.
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If I'm VFR and I'm XC I generally don't use Flight Following because it interrupts my playlist.
 
luvflyin said:
Gotcha. That will get you the benefits of a VFR Flight Plan because if they have an unexpected loss of Radio and Radar Contact with you they will initiate SAR which is what a VFR Flight is for. But if Flight Following gets terminated, it is terminated. You are no longer being 'followed.' You could have to land off airport a minute later and unless you have a VFR Flight Plan or some equivalent, it may be a very long time before help is on the way.
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A decent amount of time that I go IFR I’m planning on landing off airport.
 
When not IFR, I don't file, and don't use flight following.
 
Zeldman said:
Who says you have to give them your email and phone number.??

When I come across anything that wants personal information, I just make it up. :lol::lol:
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Please don't just make up phone numbers. I had a girl just do this to me when shopping for health insurance. I literally got over 100 phone calls and 50 text messages over 3 or 4 days. Many of the calls were back to back to back. And they use multiple phone numbers from various area codes so a lot of my blocking phone number effort was futile. I finally found her info because an area code called that i do a lot of business with and i talked to the guy for a few minutes and got enough information to look her phone number up. I was going to plug her number into a few car buying websites or put an ad on craigslist for an underpriced snowmobile....but at the end of the day i texted her and told her what a pain this has all been for me. If you feel you absolutely can't handle the phone calls, at least look up your local walmart, even though i think even that is poor taste.

Back to flying....i file for ifr, not for vfr (but pick up ff).
 
Flight following is not an option were I fly. I guess that's why I stated to file when VFR after years of not filing. For local flight I normally don't know were I'm going till I get in the air. So I just tell them it's a local flight within a 50 mile radius. After TO I amend the flight plan with RCO when I decide my route, which depends on the wind most of the time.
 
I recently had a regular passenger of mine ask me what a flight plan was. my response to her was "are you asking because every time you read about an accident they say they didn't file a flight plan?" she laughed and said yes. so I told her that if you don't file a flight plan and your plane goes down you would surely get eaten by alligators or snakes long before you were ever found but that she shouldn't worry because we don't have alligators in north carolina.
 
eman1200 said:
I recently had a regular passenger of mine ask me what a flight plan was. my response to her was "are you asking because every time you read about an accident they say they didn't file a flight plan?" she laughed and said yes. so I told her that if you don't file a flight plan and your plane goes down you would surely get eaten by alligators or snakes long before you were ever found but that she shouldn't worry because we don't have alligators in north carolina.
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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/517491813409643177/
 
Opening and closing a VFR flight plan is rather easy these days with a cell phone. My only recommendation is expand your ETE enough so you are on the ground and out of the plane when you get the cancellation reminder.
 
Ventucky Red said:
Dude... do not think for a second you're lying to them and getting away with it... just trust me on this..
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I dunno. Depends if in a relationship or not. I once convinced a girl that all the Victor airways and intersections were marked by balloons at various altitude on cables, and if there were clouds you just climbed above them, looked for the next balloon, and flew to it. They had signs on them that pointed to the next intersection and that's how we did flights when it was cloudy.

Never did tell her otherwise.
 
EdFred said:
I dunno. Depends if in a relationship or not. I once convinced a girl that all the Victor airways and intersections were marked by balloons at various altitude on cables, and if there were clouds you just climbed above them, looked for the next balloon, and flew to it. They had signs on them that pointed to the next intersection and that's how we did flights when it was cloudy.

Never did tell her otherwise.
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Perfect!

Driving in the car last week, we passed one of these signs:
upload_2019-3-11_14-35-9.png


I complained to my wife that these signs are absolutely useless. The @$%#! FAA puts these things too low and it's impossible to see them from the air. They need to be at least at pattern altitude when near the airport, and higher when farther out.

I really should write a letter to the FAA about that.....
 
luvflyin said:
Why?
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Clip4 said:
Opening and closing a VFR flight plan is rather easy these days with a cell phone. My only recommendation is expand your ETE enough so you are on the ground and out of the plane when you get the cancellation reminder.
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I stopped as FSS messed up bad on one of my flights. Landed Carlsbad NM and closed the plan on the ground as they refused to in the air. Next day on departure they indicated my plan was "still open" ... I asked them why they weren't searching for me then or at least called the contact number, next response was,"Previous flight plan closed and your new one is now open ...click".

Now that it can be done via text message, I'll probably start again.
 
Clip4 said:
Opening and closing a VFR flight plan is rather easy these days with a cell phone. My only recommendation is expand your ETE enough so you are on the ground and out of the plane when you get the cancellation reminder.
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Unfortunately my home drome has lousy cell coverage, so I have to open a plan in the air.
 
Half Fast said:
Unfortunately my home drome has lousy cell coverage, so I have to open a plan in the air.
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We have a FSS at the airport so I open when taxing. I normally close 15 to 20 miles out with RCO and give a pilot report.
 
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