VFR Flight Following Follow Up

I had a topic in mind for this week, but I realized that I had left a few things out of the Flight Following topic a couple of weeks ago that I really felt should be added. They're not much, but they should be said. There are some items in here related to the classes of airspace, so I want to reiterate that the rules mentioned herein are related specifically to Canadian airspace and regulations, and may not apply outside of Canada.

In all cases with a VFR aircraft, the pilot has the ultimate responsibility to maintain flight in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). There are no exceptions to this rule, since visibility is life for a VFR pilot. When a VFR pilot is with an IFR ATC unit for flight following, be it a Terminal or a Center, this rule still holds true. It was stated in the previous article that ATC may not be able to see weather systems developing, especially those that are localized and/or developing rapidly. For this reason, they are not likely to be able to warn a pilot, or even know that an aircraft is running close to a cloud or fog bank. Other things like nasty looking clouds that have showers underneath them, possibly indicating strong downdrafts, localized hail or what have you, should be avoided all in the usual manners, and ATC should be advised. See the next section.

When you call up for flight following, ATC will want to know who you are, where you are, and what you're doing. Why? To determine if you're traffic for any of their other aircraft, and to provide you with any kind of service. It stands to reason, then, that if you change your plans, ATC would also be interested. You don't need to tell him your life story, just a quick summary of what you're up to. This includes things like manoeuvers used to avoid weather (turning or changing altitude), terrain, flight over large bodies of water, or even for traffic. Also, ATC mostly deals with aircraft that want to go the most direct route between points for efficiency's sake, so if you want to follow a river or a coast line for some sight-seeing along the way, it is quite possible ATC will ask what you're doing if you don't tell them so. More is said on this below in another section.

Two things should be said about this, and one of them tempered. First, ATC should be kept aware of what you're doing on your flight. That way, they know what you're up to so they can determine if you're traffic for others. One of the issues that comes up here is altitude, and the changes sometimes required or desired. If you start descending or climbing unexpectedly, ATC may have little chance to advise you of traffic that wasn't previously a factor. This is where the tempering comes into play. If you know you'll be operating at multiple altitudes, such as during a training flight, every altitude change report can be a pain in the butt for both you and ATC. I'll suggest a phrase like, "working 5,000 and below," since that is descriptive and only needs to be said once. This sort of information can be good to know. I once worked an aircraft who had decided to descend to have a look at some cottages along the coast line. He descended below communication horizon before I had a chance to ask him what he was up to, and was under radar coverage for quite some time and not near an airfield. One of the reasons for flight following, as detailed in the topic two weeks ago, is to watch for unusual circumstances and provide position information in the event something bad happens. I went on a search thinking this aircraft had experienced an emergency and didn't have time to tell me. The flight plan sent to radio didn't include any sightseeing information (I haven't found a requirement to do so), and there was no indication from the pilot that such an activity would be done. The unexpected descent was cause for concern, in my opinion. A simple communication of what was planned would have set my mind at ease. The next item with respect to altitude changes is detailed in the next section, and actually applies to the previous section as well.

Most pilots calling up for flight following will be operating outside of Class B, C or D airspace. Those in the know realize the difference between the aforementioned classes of airspace and the rest where VFR is permitted: the rules which govern the extent of control authority on VFR aircraft. ATC has no authority to direct the flow of VFR traffic in Class E or G airspace. As such, any directions from ATC are not mandatory for pilots to follow. This includes headings, routings and altitudes. Having said that, ATC should still be listened to. Many pilots in the Moncton FIR file flight plans and fly routes which take them through CYR724, an area of restricted airspace capped at FL250 which is noted on charts as "Continuous live firing". If ATC tells you to go around the area, they're giving you good advice. Sure, they can't direct you to do it, but you shouldn't be entering the area anyway.

ATC may provide information on other aircraft and suggest altitude changes or headings to avoid the traffic. These are not mandatory, and a pilot is free to chose alternative action. I would recommend highly that a pilot in receipt of a cautionary transmission from ATC at the very least acknowledge it, but also advise ATC of the pilot's intent with respect to it. This way, ATC knows you heard him and knows that you're taking action, if required. Otherwise, ATC may keep transmitting information to you, taking up your time and his.

What about Class B, C, and D airspaces? I'll go into Class B airspace next week, as VFR flight in Class B is a different kettle of fish from the latter two classes. For Class C and D, ATC does have authority over your actions, at least to some extent. The guidelines mentioned earlier about telling ATC what you're up to are now rules, as ATC must either approve your request or may apply restrictions to your activity. This doesn't absolve a pilot from his own obligations with respect to weather, traffic or obstacle avoidance or anything else, but it adds to the rules of what the pilot must observe in the process. A past topic was written with respect to the different classes of airspace, and it's available in the Archives for reference.

Pilots will sometimes want to change information in their VFR flight plans. The winds are favorable and a planned fuel stop is not required, or they're higher and an unplanned stop is required. They are running short on their booking time granted from the flying club on their cross country flight and decide to cut one leg off the route, meaning a change in the ETA. Whatever the reason for a change, ATC providing flight following should be kept apprised of the change, but so must FSS who is carrying the flight plan for alerting services. Telling ATC that you're changing doesn't mean that FSS is automatically updated. Some controllers will pass on the information, but given that it is not their primary responsibility and other workload may prevent them from doing it, pilots should always check in with Radio to let them know of any changes to ETE, ETA, routing, etc. Which brings us to our next section...

... which is quite often an issue with aircraft requesting flight following. I have written about this before, but is an important issue. ATC can't provide much more than a position to search and rescue if you don't listen after you check in and are radar identified. And that's not always a guarantee. In addition to not being able to tell you about traffic or other issues that rear their ugly heads, ATC can't tell you when radar identification is lost if you don't listen to them. Some pilots will stop looking at their maps when they talk to ATC, thinking controllers will tell them if something doesn't look right. Given the increased likelihood that a VFR pilot will stray from the route ATC was told about, ATC may be less likely to make mention of a divergence from course by a VFR pilot. For a pilot who stops navigating, and stops listening to ATC, they could find themselves in trouble, especially at night. If you intend to leave the frequency after you have checked in, tell ATC. Whether it's for an ATF/MF area that you're crossing, changing to Radio to ask for information or change a flight plan, to talk to dispatch or whatever. Let ATC know when you plan to leave the frequency, and when you return.

Communication is, as said in the past, an art not a science. Plan your statement, and think about what it says before you key your mic. I'll demonstrate with an example or two about some subtle differences in air-to-ground communications where the meanings are lost, sometimes with less than favorable circumstances. We're all guilty of less than professional transmissions from time to time. The goal is to try to be clear and concise with each and every transmission, thereby reducing the chances of misunderstandings and reducing the communication workload for both sides.

A famous incident in the southeastern US had a VFR aircraft talking to CTR while enroute. The pilot told CTR he needed to turn to the right to avoid cloud, and ATC told him about traffic off his right side. The pilot's next transmission was something to the effect of, "I'm in cloud, and in a spin. Sorry..." Then there was nothing. The pilot crashed. The investigation concluded that the pilot had mistaken the controller's traffic advisory as direction not to turn (I don't have the exact wording of the radio exchange, but I do recall that it could have mislead an inexperienced pilot who was unaware of his rights and responsibilities). It also mentioned that a lot of pilots see "the word of ATC" as final, even when ATC has no authority to direct traffic. As mentioned earlier, this is not the case, especially for VFR aircraft in Class E or G airspace.

Another one that happens with miscommunication on VFR flight following is description of activities. For example, many pilots will tell us in Moncton Center that they plan to fly "direct" from Saint John, NB, to Halifax, NS. What they often mean is "non-stop", but what ATC expects is shortest distance from Point A to Point B. With the large, cold Bay of Fundy waters just south of Saint John, most VFR pilots in single-engine aircraft will fly up the coast a little to a point which provides minimum distance across water. This is far from what ATC will envision as a direct route. It would be better for a pilot to say, "proceeding up the coast before crossing," than, "enroute direct Halifax," given the difference between the two routes. This may save a further communication from ATC to ask what you're doing, since it doesn't look to him like you're doing what you told him you would do.

ATC will provide, where practicable, information on radar observed targets which are or could be traffic. This is done in with reference to the "clock positions". Straight ahead is 12 o'clock, your 3 o'clock is to your right, and so forth. Just think of it as if you were in the center of a clock face (not a digital clock, an old fashioned clock -- and if you don't know what an analog clock face looks like, I'll have to come slap you) and looking toward each of the numbers with 12 right in front of you as you are facing now. One caveat is this: ATC bases 12 o'clock on your aircraft's track, not its heading. This means that it won't correspond exactly as described in you're experiencing wind drift or in a side slip. It's more a method of getting you to look in the general direction, rather than being more precise. ATC will state the position of the traffic (referring to the clock), the distance (in Nautical Miles, spoken as "miles"), and then give more details as they are available. Here are some examples:

Alpha Romeo Tango, traffic 2 o'clock, 4 miles, opposite direction Cessna 172 at four thousand five hundred.
Bravo India Golf, traffic 12 o'clock, 5 miles, westbound Dash 8 out of six thousand two hundred for three thousand.
Tango Oscar Golf, traffic 5 o'clock, 3 miles, Boeing 737 overtaking you at your altitude.

And my personal favorite:

Golf Uniform November, traffic 12 o'clock, one half mile opposite direction 747 at your altitude. You can't miss him!
Dang it, Center, we're gonna try!

If ATC points out traffic to you, please take the time to notify them if you see it. Simply saying, "Alpha Bravo Charlie, traffic in sight," will suffice. If you don't report seeing it, ATC will likely continue as workload permits to tell you about it. If you must take action to avoid the traffic, advise ATC what you are doing so he can tell the other aircraft if he's talking to him as well.

I hope this fills in the unintentional gaps left in the previous topic about Flight Following. I may be making it out to be a big workload, but it really isn't. A lot of what I said in this topic and the previous one comes down to common sense, really. Comments? Questions? Write me at moxner@nbnet.nb.ca. Thanks for reading!