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2 Answers

Flight following with multiple destinations

Asked by: 3686 views ,
General Aviation

I have a couple questions about flight following. I want to land at a few different airports and then return to my starting point. When I initially call up ATC to request it, where do I say my destination is? Do I say it's my first destination, cancel it before I land, and then request it again after I takeoff? Or do I say my starting point (same as my final destination) and tell them my route?

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2 Answers



  1. Tyson on Feb 16, 2017

    Tell them your first place of intended landing. They will issue you a squawk code from the time you are in radar contact during your flight to your first destination. Continue to monitor ATC until you Cancel flight following prior to your first place of intended landing. Do the same thing each time you depart and land. Think of each time you fly a leg from one airport to the next as having to request a new flight following code from ATC.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Feb 16, 2017

    The answer is, it depends, so why not split the difference. If you are going to do touch and go or other quick return to the air, the controller might be interested. Stopping for lunch, maybe not so much. Workload can effect the answer too. And individual controllers might want to handle it differently. So, why not ask them at the time instead of asking us? Here’s two options.

    1. When you ask for flight following, say it’s going to be a multiple leg trip and tell the controller the first destination. If he wants more he will let you know.

    2. When you ask for flight following, give your first destination. When you near your destination, tell the controller (who might be a completely different person) that you will be taking off for [next destination] in [time]. She will let you know whether she would, for example, like you to keep the same squawk.

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