Flight Following in a big circle

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JOhnH

Touchdown! Greaser!
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My wife wants to circumnavigate South Florida, alone. Just for fun.

She is hesitant to ask for flight following because they want a destination and she is going to be taking a very roundabout route. Can she ask for flight following from point A to point B, by way of points C,D,E & F? How would she communicate that to ATC (short of filing a VFR flight plan)? Or will each controller be questioning her route on every handoff? Almost all of or flights are cross country and as direct from point to point as possible.
 
JOhnH said:
Can she ask for flight following from point A to point B, by way of points C,D,E & F?
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"Fight following to B. Route of flight will be C, D, E, F."
JOhnH said:
How would she communicate that to ATC (short of filing a VFR flight plan)?
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ATC doesn't see VFR flight plans.
JOhnH said:
Or will each controller be questioning her route on every handoff?
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Usually not, but sometimes yes.
 
JOhnH said:
My wife wants to circumnavigate South Florida, alone. Just for fun.

She is hesitant to ask for flight following because they want a destination and she is going to be taking a very roundabout route. Can she ask for flight following from point A to point B, by way of points C,D,E & F? How would she communicate that to ATC (short of filing a VFR flight plan)? Or will each controller be questioning her route on every handoff? Almost all of or flights are cross country and as direct from point to point as possible.
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It might go something like this:

You: Requesting VFR flight following to A, but we will be taking a zigzag route for sightseeing.
ATC: What's your initial altitude and heading?
You: 3000 ft and 270.
ATC: Roger, maintain 3000 and 270 for now, advise prior to heading or altitude changes.
 
JOhnH said:
My wife wants to circumnavigate South Florida, alone. Just for fun.
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I prefer the direct method above, but a few other ways to spin this are:

File IFR with those points in the plan and cancel in the air

File IFR, tell tower you'll pick it up in the air and then tell approach/center you changed your mind

"Request VFR flight following to C for airwork" and then when you get there "Airwork here is done, request VFR flight following to D for airwork"
 
MountainDude said:
Easy peasy. Literally just tell them what you want to do.
Miami center, plane X, 10 miles W of Y, request flight following to Z. Will fly a circular route around south FL.
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I’ve done this many times. Just tell them what you’re doing. Otherwise they are going to guess (probably wrong) or waste radio time asking you questions
 
Initial Fix said:
I’ve done this many times. Just tell them what you’re doing. Otherwise they are going to guess (probably wrong) or waste radio time asking you questions
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A big :yeahthat:. Make the initial call short to get their attention, but when you make the request, don't force ATC to play "20 Questions" with you.

The other related tip is, we still want to keep it short. Remember that you are dealing with different controllers in different sectors. All you really need is the first destination and perhaps what's next. I can't recall where it was, but I remember a thread or a video involving a pilot who was going to do multiple sightseeing stops. The requests came down to "flight following to [name of area] for some sightseeing, then to [next place]." Basically telling the current controller what you want now, but with a heads-up on the next phase. Sometimes you don't even need to do that so long as you let them klnow what's next at some point.

@JOhnH, if it helps any, a friend and I did one of these in Florida. Departed Pompano, flew down the east coast, then about half way along the keys, then crossed up to the west side. On a lark, we added in an instrument approach and landing at Imokalee (got the T-Shirt to prove it) before heading back to PMP. Flight following all the way.
 
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sarangan said:
It might go something like this:

You: Requesting VFR flight following to A, but we will be taking a zigzag route for sightseeing.
ATC: What's your initial altitude and heading?
You: 3000 ft and 270.
ATC: Roger, maintain 3000 and 270 for now, advise prior to heading or altitude changes.
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:yeahthat:

Sometimes the "zigazag route" explanation doesn't get communicated with the ATC handoffs, though.

When I bought my baby Beech and flew her home to Winter Haven, my initial request was something like:

ME: N123AB, level at 5500, 10 northwest of TLH, request flight following to GIF. Route will wander to stay near airports.​
ATC: Squawk XXXX, advise heading or altitude changes.​

A while later I was handed over to Jax Center while still on an easterly heading and it went like this:

ATC: N123AB, say destination.​
ME: Winter Haven, GIF.​
ATC: Uh, how are you planning to get there?​
ME: I'll be turning south in 5 minutes​
ATC: Roger, advise heading change.​

(Five minutes later....)

ME: Jax, N123AB turning onto south heading.​
ATC: Roger. Turn at your discretion, no traffic. Just wondered why you weren't direct.​
ME: First flight with this plane, trying to stay near airports as a precaution.​
ATC: Roger, good idea. Maintain VFR.​
​
ATC is usually cooperative and helpful. Just let them know what your plans are.
 
This used to bug me so much I always wanted fight following but there was sometimes I just wanted to fly around aimlessly.

Just call them up and say hey I want traffic advisories and give them a ballpark idea of where you're going. They'll ask you for the specifics if they need them.

Nobody should ever be afraid to call ATC and ask for traffic advisories. I promise you they want you on their frequency listening to them so they can tell you when there's a potential incursion.

There is no need ever to fear controllers unless you're on the ground, taxing at Chicago O'Hare.
 
JOhnH said:
My wife wants to circumnavigate South Florida, alone. Just for fun.

She is hesitant to ask for flight following because they want a destination and she is going to be taking a very roundabout route. Can she ask for flight following from point A to point B, by way of points C,D,E & F? How would she communicate that to ATC (short of filing a VFR flight plan)? Or will each controller be questioning her route on every handoff? Almost all of or flights are cross country and as direct from point to point as possible.
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simple, just tell them what you want to do, maybe give them something of a route. not sure what airport you're starting from but i'd prob ask ground with my request if towered.

oh yeah, just remembered i did. i started at orlando executive, asked for flight following down to naples, over to the keys, up the east coast to the shuttle facility then back to korl.
 
MauleSkinner said:
And that’s only because post-9/11 they limited weapons in the airplane for Air Carrier over 12,500 lbs.
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They actually did that back in the 80's when the disgruntled employee took out a plane load of passengers by killing the pilots.

After 9/11 we got guns back in the cockpit with the help of a very liberal senator from California of all places. That was about the only thing I ever agreed with Diane Feinstein.
 
Mikey52 said:
They actually did that back in the 80's when the disgruntled employee took out a plane load of passengers by killing the pilots.

After 9/11 we got guns back in the cockpit with the help of a very liberal senator from California of all places. That was about the only thing I ever agreed with Diane Feinstein.
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Guns in the cockpit, yes, but deadly weapons like pocket knives and fingernail clippers were banned post 9/11.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
This used to bug me so much I always wanted fight following but there was sometimes I just wanted to fly around aimlessly.

Just call them up and say hey I want traffic advisories and give them a ballpark idea of where you're going. They'll ask you for the specifics if they need them.

Nobody should ever be afraid to call ATC and ask for traffic advisories. I promise you they want you on their frequency listening to them so they can tell you when there's a potential incursion.

There is no need ever to fear controllers unless you're on the ground, taxing at Chicago O'Hare.
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This is true, BUT remember that once you're talking, you must follow their instructions. So it busy airspace it's up to you to decide whether the value of traffic advisories outweighs the cost that you may be directed away from where you want to go.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
This used to bug me so much I always wanted fight following but there was sometimes I just wanted to fly around aimlessly.
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We have literally used flight following while doing flight training and checkrides in the practice area. The last several years the haze from the Canadian wildfires in the summer have reduced visibility to 3-5 miles, VFR but very hazy. We would just call up center, request flight following, will be maneuvering 5 NW of XXX airport 3,000-5,000. As long as they weren't busy, they usually didn't mind. If anything it gives them additional information on what would have been a 1200 squawk randomly dancing around the screen, and a way to contact you if there is a potential conflict.
 
Lindberg said:
This is true, BUT remember that once you're talking, you must follow their instructions. So it busy airspace it's up to you to decide whether the value of traffic advisories outweighs the cost that you may be directed away from where you want to go.
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If ATC is vectoring you, it's probably for a good reason. If you really need to be somewhere that they don't want you to be, that's the time for a discussion of options. People wandering around in busy airspace while not talking to anyone is solid fodder for any regulator wanting to expand Class B, restricted, and prohibited airspace to force those shenanigans away from critical areas.
 
AvNavCom said:
If ATC is vectoring you, it's probably for a good reason. If you really need to be somewhere that they don't want you to be, that's the time for a discussion of options. People wandering around in busy airspace while not talking to anyone is solid fodder for any regulator wanting to expand Class B, restricted, and prohibited airspace to force those shenanigans away from critical areas.
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There's plenty of threads that have addressed this argument. No need to clutter up this one.
 
As others have said, she just has to tell them what she's doing. But what kind of plane? Odds are she is not going to make it in one flight with reserves and with all the weaving around airspace she's not going to get cleared through. And there will be a lot of descending and then climbing, which will also eat up fuel.

And pre-plan for every Class B, C, R, MOA, etc., etc., to have a plan if ATC says, NO, you can't go that way. Last thing she wants to be doing is suddenly figuring out a plan around some airspace. I'd actually flight plan it to avoid everything and then be happy when they let you cut through.
 
geez where do you guys fly, in florida, as long as you're vfr, they'll just kinda fly u up and down the coast. AtC just isn't really that difficulty, tell them where you want to go and why, 95% of the time DONE unless it puts you infront of somethign else
 
M20K said:
But what kind of plane? Odds are she is not going to make it in one flight with reserves
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That's a good point. For example a Cessna 172 only has about 5 hours of fuel on board at full cruise power.
 
Years ago I blast out of RIC with the kids. Tell them I just want to exit the class C and terminate services as we want to do some circles around Kings Dominion (local theme park). They say they can handle that. I get handed off to departure and they say "report Kings Dominion in sight." When I do that, they say just let them know when I'm ready to continue on to Dulles.
 
M20K said:
As others have said, she just has to tell them what she's doing. But what kind of plane?
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Bonanza V35

M20K said:
Odds are she is not going to make it in one flight with reserves and with all the weaving around airspace she's not going to get cleared through.
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She made the trip yesterday. Refueled at Everglades (X01).

M20K said:
And there will be a lot of descending and then climbing, which will also eat up fuel.

And pre-plan for every Class B, C, R, MOA, etc., etc., to have a plan if ATC says, NO, you can't go that way. Last thing she wants to be doing is suddenly figuring out a plan around some airspace. I'd actually flight plan it to avoid everything and then be happy when they let you cut through.
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No kidding. She spent hours planning around all that airspace, but she said she probably over-planned. She just told them what she wanted to do and they either let her or gave her alternate instructions.

Other than sweating for 4 hours, and losing about a quart of blood to the mosquitoes while refueling, she had a blast.

We almost always fly together. She just wanted to practice doing it all by herself, with no help. Refueling was her biggest accomplishment. I usually do that.
 
flyingron said:
Years ago I blast out of RIC with the kids. Tell them I just want to exit the class C and terminate services as we want to do some circles around Kings Dominion (local theme park). They say they can handle that. I get handed off to departure and they say "report Kings Dominion in sight." When I do that, they say just let them know when I'm ready to continue on to Dulles.
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Almost identical to the interaction with Portland when we were taking photos while doing turns around a point (the "point" was Mt Hood).

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JOhnH said:
No kidding. She spent hours planning around all that airspace, but she said she probably over-planned. She just told them what she wanted to do and they either let her or gave her alternate instructions.
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Just watched a "What Would You Do?" Pilot Workshop video that Sporty's was promoting about flying in FL. Guy made it over Ft Lauderdale using the VFR transition route, but then got dumped with a "remain clear of the Class B."

Don't ya hate it when that happens!
 
I fly in Florida ,just state your intentions,they will mostly try to accommodate your request. They can usually tell you how to transit the special airspace .
 
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