No matter what it’s called—flight following, VFR advisories or the FAA’s official term, “Radar Traffic Information Service”—the radar-based assistance ATC provides VFR pilots to help them identify and avoid nearby traffic often can be a mystery to pilots. The reasons why are complicated— often involving lazy instructors and low-level training flights that rarely use ATC—but it’s not uncommon for a freshly certificated pilot to not know how to obtain VFR flight following. Because they’ve had little exposure to the practice, they also often don’t know what to expect from ATC once the service is being provided or understand what’s expected of them.
And that’s a shame, since obtaining and using flight following is a skill that’s definitely worth having in your toolbox. It’s especially useful on a long, VFR cross-country flight but is equally valued just scooting around Class B and C airspace. So, what is this service, and how can pilots use it? More important, since it’s entirely at the controller’s discretion, how can pilots “hack” the system—maximize the chances they’ll get the services they want?
