IFR/Flight Following -- ATC Preferences?

Departing cross country out of the Minneapolis area in severe clear, I will
usually ask for either flight following or will file. I depart from KMIC, which
is under the 4000 foot shelf of the MSP bravo airspace.

For example, Friday I am going from KMIC to KGPZ, which is a couple hundred
miles to the north.

I am curious what TRACON and Center guys think:

Do you prefer to have me on a full IFR flight plan? (I always cancel when I
have the airport in sight if the destination is non-towered.)

Just advisories so you know who I am and what I am doing, but you don't have to
provide separation services?

Or do you not wish to hear at all? (Hopefully not, because I like being in the
system both for traffic info and in case of emergency.)

TIA

In some areas of California, IFR is the only way to go because Flight
Following is not very reliable. When getting Flight Following you can
(and often do) get dropped with a simple (squawk VFR, services
terminated). I've had ATC try this twice with me while IFR, but I was
able to refuse because I was IFR. At the mid altitudes, about 60% of
the time L.A. center is not accepting flight following hand offs.

-Robert

Mitty wrote:

Do you prefer to have me on a full IFR flight plan? (I always cancel when I
have the airport in sight if the destination is non-towered.)

I was told by some of the smaller ATC facilities (there are three TRSAs
just beyond of my class C airport) that they prefer I file IFR. The reason
they gave is that total IFR flights through their airspace are counted and
used when justifying the expense of keeping an ATC facility open.

FWIW.


--
Peter
























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"Mitty" wrote in message
...
Departing cross country out of the Minneapolis area in severe clear, I
will usually ask for either flight following or will file. I depart from
KMIC, which is under the 4000 foot shelf of the MSP bravo airspace.

For example, Friday I am going from KMIC to KGPZ, which is a couple
hundred miles to the north.

I am curious what TRACON and Center guys think:

Do you prefer to have me on a full IFR flight plan? (I always cancel when
I have the airport in sight if the destination is non-towered.)

Just advisories so you know who I am and what I am doing, but you don't
have to provide separation services?

Or do you not wish to hear at all? (Hopefully not, because I like being
in the system both for traffic info and in case of emergency.)

TIA

I am not, nor do I ever wish to be associated with ATC, but I would imagine
that providing any service is more work for them that not. Considering I
constantly hear how "overworked" or "overloaded" they are, I would assume
that they would prefer you not ask for any more service than you actually
need given their apparent work load.

After all, it's not their ass flying around up there, no matter what
happens, they can walk out the door and go home at the end of the day.

That being said, I'm all for not bothering ATC unless I'm required to by FAA
regulations.

Not the best attitude, in my opinion. As others have noted, ATC expansion
and paychecks depend on traffic counts, so by not using them you hit them in
the pocketbook. And you deprive yourself of a safety net that you pay for
every April.

JFK, Jr. was not required by regulation to use flight following...but the
outcome of his flight might have been drastically different had he done so.

Bob Gardner
"John Doe" wrote in message
news:uau7f.6486$vS1.2601@dukeread03...

"Mitty" wrote in message
...
Departing cross country out of the Minneapolis area in severe clear, I
will usually ask for either flight following or will file. I depart from
KMIC, which is under the 4000 foot shelf of the MSP bravo airspace.

For example, Friday I am going from KMIC to KGPZ, which is a couple
hundred miles to the north.

I am curious what TRACON and Center guys think:

Do you prefer to have me on a full IFR flight plan? (I always cancel
when I have the airport in sight if the destination is non-towered.)

Just advisories so you know who I am and what I am doing, but you don't
have to provide separation services?

Or do you not wish to hear at all? (Hopefully not, because I like being
in the system both for traffic info and in case of emergency.)

TIA

I am not, nor do I ever wish to be associated with ATC, but I would
imagine that providing any service is more work for them that not.
Considering I constantly hear how "overworked" or "overloaded" they are, I
would assume that they would prefer you not ask for any more service than
you actually need given their apparent work load.

After all, it's not their ass flying around up there, no matter what
happens, they can walk out the door and go home at the end of the day.

That being said, I'm all for not bothering ATC unless I'm required to by
FAA regulations.

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...

JFK, Jr. was not required by regulation to use flight following...but the
outcome of his flight might have been drastically different had he done
so.


How would have flight following made a difference? He didn't run into an
unseen airplane.

Well, if there was an asshole like you controlling that evening, the
outcome would have been no different. You probably would have called
him "stupid"
and a "bad pilot" on the way down.

But, if the controller was a normal individual, not a know it all, he
perhaps could have made a suggestion. IE: Do you have an autopilot? Can
you turn it on? Etc.

Lynne

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:

How would have flight following made a difference? He didn't run into an
unseen airplane.

In a previous article, "Lynne" said:
But, if the controller was a normal individual, not a know it all, he
perhaps could have made a suggestion. IE: Do you have an autopilot? Can
you turn it on? Etc.

By the time anybody but him would have realized he was in a death spiral,
it would have been too late.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Will debug C homework for lap dances.
-- Mike Looney

If nothing else, the protracted search for the wreckage would have been
shortened or eliminated. Others have made points I will not repear. Just
being in touch with ATC is a plus.

Bob Gardner

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
t...

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...

JFK, Jr. was not required by regulation to use flight following...but the
outcome of his flight might have been drastically different had he done
so.


How would have flight following made a difference? He didn't run into an
unseen airplane.

In a previous article, said:
To clarify: I am asking the ATC guys a question. I am not interested in
readings from the FAR/AIM, other pilots' personal practices, OT advice, or
reading posts from people who are flaming each other. Thanks in advance.

Too bad. This is usenet - you don't always get what you want.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Not that I'm annoyed at this particular bit of recto-plasmic sputum which
has crawled up from the depths of product mis-management to haunt me. Not
at all. -- Simon Burr