More questions on VFR flight following.

Ross wrote:

All the times that I have used FF is just give a destination. Sometimes
ATC will come back and ask me to repeat the destination. I assume that
it is because I am not headed directly there. I tell them that I will be
flying such and such.

Or perhaps they do not know the airport identifier/location. I will
often use Colorado Springs as my destination instead of the smaller
Meadow Lake. You can't expect ATC to know every airport code in the
US.

Ron Lee

Ron Lee wrote:
Ross wrote:

All the times that I have used FF is just give a destination. Sometimes
ATC will come back and ask me to repeat the destination. I assume that
it is because I am not headed directly there. I tell them that I will be
flying such and such.

Or perhaps they do not know the airport identifier/location. I will
often use Colorado Springs as my destination instead of the smaller
Meadow Lake. You can't expect ATC to know every airport code in the
US.

Even if they know it or or you provide it to them, I've found that ATC
sometimes can't work with a destination when entering the request in
their systems. I've been told that the systems just don't have all
domestic airports in them. For instance, every time I've requested
flight following to PJY from Minnesota for the annual Pinckneyville
fly-in I get asked to name a nearby airport instead. Now I just tell
them Marion or Carbondale.

Rich Ahrens wrote:
Ron Lee wrote:
Ross wrote:

All the times that I have used FF is just give a destination. Sometimes
ATC will come back and ask me to repeat the destination. I assume that
it is because I am not headed directly there. I tell them that I will be
flying such and such.

Or perhaps they do not know the airport identifier/location. I will
often use Colorado Springs as my destination instead of the smaller
Meadow Lake. You can't expect ATC to know every airport code in the
US.

Even if they know it or or you provide it to them, I've found that ATC
sometimes can't work with a destination when entering the request in
their systems. I've been told that the systems just don't have all
domestic airports in them. For instance, every time I've requested
flight following to PJY from Minnesota for the annual Pinckneyville
fly-in I get asked to name a nearby airport instead. Now I just tell
them Marion or Carbondale.

I've found that for small, GA airports ATC out of that area seldom
knows about it and it is much simpler to give them the name of at
least a class D, and sometimes class C, near to where you are going.

Once you are in the area you can tell them the true destination.

Example: I've found that no ATC outside of SoCal seems to know where
Cable (KCCB) is, though I guess they could look it up, but why bother?

I just tell them I'm going to Ontario (KONT) and they all know where
that is.

Why complicate things when I know I will get handed off to Ontario
tower anyway as I go through their airspace and Ontario tower is well
aware of where Cable is.


--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Rich Ahrens wrote:
Or perhaps they do not know the airport identifier/location. I will
often use Colorado Springs as my destination instead of the smaller
Meadow Lake. You can't expect ATC to know every airport code in the
US.

Even if they know it or or you provide it to them, I've found that ATC
sometimes can't work with a destination when entering the request in
their systems. I've been told that the systems just don't have all
domestic airports in them. For instance, every time I've requested
flight following to PJY from Minnesota for the annual Pinckneyville
fly-in I get asked to name a nearby airport instead. Now I just tell
them Marion or Carbondale.

I have had the same experience Rich. Once I was asked what other
airports were nearby and I had to look at the chart to find something
since it was an area new to me.