Get flight following

They understand the necessity of ATC but if it’s all the same to you, they’d rather not talk to controllers, thank you very much. We can relate: Talking on the radio is a skill that can take months or even years to perfect. So why put yourself at the risk of sounding silly on the radio if you don’t have to talk to ATC?

Here’s a good reason: By maintaining radio silence you miss out on the services that ATC can provide to VFR pilots, such as flight following.

Technically called VFR traffic advisories, flight following is a service that VFR pilots can request en route to a destination. Once you check in with the controller and he or she assigns you a squawk code, you can receive weather updates, traffic advisories, the status of temporary flight restrictions, and more.

What’s the difference between flight following and filing and opening a flight plan? With flight following, ATC assigns you a radar squawk code and, once you plug that into your airplane’s transponder, the controller is actively keeping an eye on you. That’s comforting to know! With a flight plan, all ATC knows is that you opened your plan and you’re somewhere between Points A and B. But they don’t know where, and they don’t know you’re overdue until the grace period for closing your flight plan has passed.

Here’s another benefit of VFR flight following: You’re on the same frequency as pilots of jets, helicopters, and piston aircraft. Listening in on these conversations will expand your comfort zone when it’s your turn to key the mic.