Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Flight Following and Transiting Class B/C: Does It Suffice For Or Aid In Contact/Clearance Requirement?

Asked by: 1422 views Airspace

Say you’re on a cross country flight that takes you through a Class B and a Class C air space, and you’ve established Flight Following before reaching them. I assume that Flight Following will at least streamline the contact and clearance requirements you need before entering those air spaces, but is that a valid assumption? What exactly would transpire as you approach the Class B and the Class C?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. ayavner on Oct 23, 2018

    For class B it goes pretty much like this – you’ll pick up flight following (FF) with whatever controlling agency you are closest to. For me its Fort Worth center. As I get closer to the class B, center will pass me on to approach. If I am on a path that will take me through Bravo, at some point they should just say that you are cleared into class Bravo along with your tail number. If I am getting close and I haven’t heard those words, I just ask approach if I am “cleared through Bravo”. If they say yes, then great – if they say no, then you are to remain clear.

    As for class C, i am not 100% sure… this came up in another thread, but unfortunately went down the path of dealing with other minutiae in my response. I think if you are overflying it, you’ll stay with whatever frequency you are on for FF. If its your destination, they’ll pass you to the tower or other controlling agency (maybe the approach for that area) who should be able to clear you.

    Either way the best way is just to get up there and do it. I have always had amazing helpful responses from FF, and they are there to help you.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Mark Kolber on Oct 31, 2018

    Class C only requires 2-way communication. There are no clearance requirements. If you are already receiving flight following, you will invariably be speaking with \”Approach\” for that Class C. So, unless Approach tells you to \”remain clear of Class C,\” you need do nothing else to enter. In this case flight following is sufficient. In terms of what else happens, listen, follow instructions, and, if you are unsure about one, ask.

    OTOH, Class B entry requires an affirmative clearance. You want to hear, \”cleared into the Class B” and never assume it. Flight following is not sufficient. But, as with Class C, if you are already receiving flight following services, you are speaking with Approach. That\’s the facility which can give you a clearance, so, yes, it streamlines the process.

    After that, there is no real difference between the two.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.