"Peter" wrote in message ...

"Mike Isaksen" wrote
1. I try to get flight following every time.

So easy to tell which poster is in America
A service from air traffic every time???? How is that done?

My experience, confirmed by several pre 9/11 ATC open houses (op
rainchecks), is that ATC wants you to call in for vfr services IF you are
either enroute or operating where you could be a conflict for their ifr ops.
The enroute callup is very low workload for them, and if your callup request
is succinct with a landing ID & only a few intersections they will usually
type up a quick strip for you. To make this process even easier I still use
the victor airway system for my vfr enroute, even if it takes me a few miles
out of the way.
The second reason (potential ifr conflict) is where they benefit greatly by
your callup. Since you will be there anyway as an unverified target, you are
the "great unknown to a control freak", and his workload just went up. Once
you callup, you verify your altitude transponder reading and your intension
not to play tag with his ifr traffic, his workload goes down. I can't
remember the exact details now but I recall the seperation requirements also
drop when both targets are verified and either one sees the other. Once
again workload goes down; they like that, and so do I.

On your other point, there is the danger that we (US) are slowly moving in
the direction of the Euro Control model, and that would change GA in America
greatly. Besides the concept of ATC user fees, I can envision in the long
term the lowering of the Class A floor to 8000 ft and other draconian
changes. The only long term solution is getting the active Private Pilot
body count moving in the upward direction. The latest AOPA focus on this is
long overdue. They need to set a quantified goal of 100000 new members in
five years. How we get there is by each of us bringing one new person into
the rank of pilot, and by offering some right seat time to those oldtimers
who may be working on their medicals. Think about it.

OK,... I yield the soapbox.