VFR Flight Following

VFR means Visual Flight Rules. The primary method of separating one's self from other aircraft is by seeing them, and the primary means of navigation is by looking out the window. Visual reference to the surface of the earth from the cockpit is the way to get around, and comparing what you see out the window to the charts is how you know where you are. This is all just like reading a road map when you're driving around.

This week's topic isn't so much about that as it is about communications while enroute. This includes things like position reports, alerting services, flight information and so on. Why do we make position reports? Who do we make them to? Who do we call to talk to about weather and like information while in the cockpit? A lot of stuff, really, that we'll look at this week.

You may have read things before about alerting services in my topics. To date, these have mostly related to IFR aircraft and ATC. When it comes to VFR aircraft, they still get alerting services from Air Traffic Services (ATS) personnel, but it works in a slightly different way. IFR aircraft are watched by the IFR ATC units. If their flight is being tracked on radar, ATC will be watching their flights for deviations from assigned airspaces, emergency replies from transponders, or other signals that may indicate trouble, such as a rapid drop in altitude indicating an emergency descent. If the flight is not on radar, mandatory position reporting points established along the route of flight serve two purposes. First, they provide ATC with reports over common fixes for establishing and proving separation between aircraft, and second, they provide ATC with position update on the aircraft. If an aircraft fails to make a position report within a reasonable time after the aircraft is estimated to have passed a fix, ATC goes looking for the flight. A communication search starts the ball rolling, and if contact can't be made, the Rescue Coordination Center may eventually be called to initiate search and rescue operations if it is believed the flight may be in trouble.

For VFR aircraft, ATC doesn't normally get involved in enroute provision of services, except for that of control as they cross control zones around controlled airports, or of the class D, C, or B airspace surrounding larger airports. So who looks after a VFR flight's progress and how?

Flight Service Specialists in Flight Information Centers provide a variety of flight information services for IFR and VFR aircraft. They range from obtaining current weather and NOTAM information to relay of messages to and from ATC. They also accept pilot reports (PIREPs) of various types for relay to appropriate agencies. They are the primary means of tracking VFR flights for alerting services.

There is very little direction as to how VFR flights are supposed to conduct themselves when it comes to position reporting. It is quite legal to take-off and land, and only provide departure and arrival messages to FSS. Here's the catch: If you do that, they may know that you're airborne, but they have no idea where you are, and will only go looking for you when you're overdue at destination. For pilots on a long flight, this could mean that a flight could experience trouble early on, and nobody will know about it for some time to come. The AIP Canada, RAC 5.1, acknowledges that position reports from VFR aircraft while enroute are not required, but also says they are encouraged. The reason? If you're overdue at destination, SAR operations will commence from your last known position. If that was your point of departure, this can waste a lot of time that could be critical to your survival. If you make position reports as you go, SAR can go immediately to that last known point and start searching from there, rather than wasting time on the early parts of your flight that you have already successfully passed.

The AIP says that pilots who are not flying within Mandatory Frequency Areas, or Aerodrome Traffic Frequency Areas should continuously monitor 126.7. This frequency is known as the universal (at least in Canada) one for Flight Services. FSS personnel have excellent channels for receiving weather information, and if they know you're operating in an area where significant weather phenomena are taking place, they can broadcast that to your flight. Other things which will be broadcast may contain information on aircraft that dump fuel, or other hazards to flight which are not indicated on charts or NOTAM, which could include traffic information. If you're on the right frequency, FSS can talk to you and give you this information when needed.

Additionally, position reports for your VFR flight are recorded by FSS staff. Any other information you deem necessary can be recorded, too, such as deteriorating weather conditions, changes in estimated time enroute/estimated time of arrival at destination, etc. A VFR position report should contain the following:

Aircraft Identification
Position (a lat/long pair will do, though significant place names are expected instead)
Time over the position above
Altitude
The phrase "VFR", or "VFR Over the Top"
Destination

It is important to first make contact with FSS in the usual fashion to let them know that a position report is coming, rather than just blurting it out. Also, a pilot may wish in to include the ETA or other information to ensure FSS has the most current info regarding the flight's progress. An example of a VFR position report is included in the AIP, and reproduced here, though I have trimmed a couple of words not really necessary in the spirit of last week's topic:

GIGB: "Gatineau Radio, Cessna Golf India Golf Bravo, VFR position report."
ND RDO: "Golf India Golf Bravo, Gatineau Radio"
GIGB: "Gatineau Radio, India Golf Bravo by Ottawa at five eight, four thousand five hundred VFR, destination Sudbury"

The time, as you can see, was issued with the last two digits only (the hour should be readily apparent). You can see that the report doesn't take all that much time and isn't very complicated. A good investment, just in case something goes wrong.

There are times when VFR flights must contact ATC while enroute. Some airspaces, usually only around busier airports, have been designated as higher classes of airspace (like B, C, and D), making them controlled airspaces. This has the effect of increasing safety margins by raising the weather minima which permit VFR flight, thereby increasing the chances of seeing and being seen. It also means the pilot must make his position and intentions known to ATC, who are controlling IFR and other VFR aircraft in the area. Often times a MODE C transponder is required so that ATC can see your aircraft on radar and see an altitude report from your aircraft without having to ask. Aircraft with TCAS will benefit from this designation of airspace, too, since you may very well be visible to them.

Even when operating outside of the higher classes of airspace, VFR aircraft may have an option besides talking to FIC while enroute. If operating within radar coverage, ATC may be able to provide another, more accurate form of flight following. The AIP, RAC 5.7, refers to it as "Radar Surveillance", but I've never heard it called that outside of the AIP. The concept is great for both ATC and VFR pilots, when workload permits. Normally, ATC will see your aircraft on radar, but they won't know who you are, what you're doing, or even if your MODE C readout is valid. By calling in to ATC and being radar identified, ATC now knows this information. Other aircraft operating in your vicinity can now be told exactly what type of aircraft you are and what you're doing. Otherwise, ATC will pass traffic saying phrases like, "eastbound, type and altitude unknown." In fact, if ATC knows for sure what you're up to, they may be able to save on workload by omitting the transmission altogether, since they know you're not doing anything that will get in the way. Better yet, if there is a conflict, he is talking both aircraft involved which can help reach a reasonable resolution, and reach it more quickly and positively.

The other benefit, of course, is seeing your aircraft on the radar. An exact (well, almost) position on your aircraft is known, and therefore if you get into trouble, SAR will have a very narrow area to search based on radar derived position information.

There are several key issues when talking about radar flight following. First off, your flight has to be operating within radar coverage. How do you know if you're within radar coverage? You have only some basic information to work with, here. The AIP diagram RAC 1.1 on Transponder Airspace (page 1-18) shows information on radar sites that is of limited value, but it does give you an idea of where you are in relation to the nearest radar sites. Experience is often the best guide here. Find out the frequency of the local ATC unit and call them to see if you're in radar coverage while you're enroute. They'll be the best source of information, anyway.

Secondly, ATC workload has to permit it. If they're too busy with IFR traffic, they may not be able to provide you with flight following. There's not much you can do about this. That's not to say you won't be on radar. If you were to squawk 7700, they'd be just as likely to see your target, and they'll still be looking to find out what has happened. They just won't have time to deal with your flight in a normal flight following manner.

Lastly, and this is the big one once flight following has been initiated, you have to monitor ATC's frequency. ATC may try to pass vital information to you like SIGMETs or other PIREPs about weather, information about conflicting traffic, or whatever. It really ticks a controller off if you call up for flight following and then don't listen up. ATC does recognize the importance of other radio calls, such as when you transit MF or ATF areas, or when you have to call FSS to update your flight plan. If you have to transit a control zone, they'll know you need to contact the tower. The big thing is just to let them know that you have to leave the frequency before you do it, and let them know when you're back. A simple call, "request to leave the frequency for a minute," or something to that effect.

A call for flight following should start out with the unit name being called and the aircraft type and callsign, in standard fashion. When ATC answers, be succinct and direct when telling ATC who you are, what you are, where you are and what you're doing, along with what you want from them. For example:

CGRIT: "Moncton Center, Cessna Gold Romeo India Tango."
CZQM: "Golf Romeo India Tango, Moncton."
CGRIT: "Romeo India Tango, Cessna one seventy two, VFR out of Fredericton for Charlottetown, five thousand five hundred, ten east of Fredericton. Request flight following."
CZQM: "Romeo India Tango, squawk ident"
No acknowledgment of the Squawk Ident instruction is required. The target flashes on the screen...
CZQM: "Romeo India Tango radar identified."

There's a basic conversation that would lead to flight following. If ATC were unable to provide the service, the line where Moncton tells GRIT to squawk ident would be replaced with a message something to the effect of "Romeo India Tango, unable flight following. Cleared enroute frequencies."

When ATC can no longer provide flight following, they will terminate radar services and clear you to enroute frequencies. If you're approaching your destination and they haven't already done so, make a simple call to tell them that you no longer require flight following and you plan to switch to the ATF/MF or TWR frequency. They'll terminate radar services at that point and let you go on your way.

There are a couple of things that pilots receiving flight following from ATC should be aware of. First, ATC watching you on radar doesn't mean that you can stop looking out the window. The rules of VFR flight say that pilots shall kept alert to the outside world. This is vital action for VFR pilots for many of reasons.

The weather is known to change from time to time, and while enroute ATC has access to current weather observations for airports around their FIR, they don't see specific weather conditions as they develop (like fog banks), especially if they are away from a weather station. Canadian ATC do have weather radar capability, but it is limited by two factors. First, the wavelengths that are optimal for reflecting off precipitation and those optimal for reflecting off aircraft are quite different. This means aircraft show up better on ATC's Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) than do droplets of water or crystals of snow. Secondly, ATC in Canada has many sources of radar, but not all are primary capable. This means that precipitation will not be seen by a Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR). Unless, of course, all the individual rain droplets happen to have transponders. What a cluttered screen that would be with all the MODE C readouts...

Additionally, ATC can't see everything with radar. There are many aircraft out there that either don't have transponders or their transponders don't work. This means they may not show up on radar at all. If they are within ATC's PSR coverage, which is thin across the country, especially in outlying areas, there is the possibility the unseen aircraft may be in a "coverage hole", just below the radar horizon which you may be operating just above, or whatever. Almost every aircraft has a "radar blind" spot, too. Most aircraft have transponder antennas underneath the aircraft to allow ground-based radars the best look at them, but many aircraft have landing gear on the bottom, too. It is, after all, a convenient spot for the vast majority of landings. Thus, if an aircraft happens to be oriented just so, the radar's interrogation signal, or the reply, may be blocked, preventing a return, and therefore preventing the aircraft from showing up on radar. This can happen with an aircraft in a steep turn, too, if the antenna is facing away from the radar.

Basically, ATC can provide a pilot receiving VFR flight following with a lot of information, but ATC is not the be all, end all for a VFR pilot. The pilot must still remain alert to what's going on around him. Also, none of this information is good if the pilot isn't listening to ATC's frequency. This is why it's important to tell ATC when you leave the frequency, and when you're back.

That's a whole lot for what started out a simple topic. Readers must be getting to know my tendency toward prolixity by now. For feedback, send me an e-mail at moxner@nbnet.nb.ca. Thanks for taking all your time to read and write!