dropped in D

Interesting question. Without trying to look it up, I would say that it is
your responsibility to remain clear or make contact with Mc Entire Tower
when VFR.

No. How can you remain clear when you are right in the middle of it?




I realize that it is my responsibility to remain clear or have two way
communications. Well, I had two way communications with ATC -- I was
in communications with Shaw Approach. Does that count?

Yes.


You don't have a clearance of any sort so your path of flight as well as
altitude is at your discretion. If you are in Class B,C

Yes.


,D,

No.


then the
controller can give you vectors and altitudes but doesn't necessarily have
to under FF.

What? In class B you are essentially IFR and will be separated from
everyone else. In class C you may or may not be separated. Some class
C facilities make their controllers separate all aircraft from all
others, most don't. In class D you get nothing except a generic traffic
call.


An example would be where you have established flight following and
announced that you are at 3,000ft. Then over Mc Entire, you decide to
descend to 2,000 feet. Nothing prevents you from to doing so under FF but
you would be compelled to contact the tower to enter the Class D.

No, absolutely not. It is 100% the responsibility of approach to
contact the tower. And your altitude isn't relavant. As an example at
my tower/TRACON the TRACON owns the airspace up to 12,000. We let the
tower have about 1500 feet AGL. That doesn't mean however that the
TRACON can bring overflights right over the airport at 2000 AGL without
coordinating with the tower. Any airplane that the TRACON is working
that is going over the airport has to be coordinated with the tower,
even if you are at 12,000, because the tower has automatic releases for
all departures. Same thing if Salt Lake is working a VFR overflight at
12,500 or an IFR overflight at 13,000. He has to call me to point out
that traffic to me. Now you would have to know what kind of agreement
between the tower and its approach facility is in effect. Of course you
have no way of knowing that. That's why overflights are coordinated
with the tower from the approach controller.