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Originally Posted by flygirl39  Couple of quick questions:
1. If i decide to make a flight say from my home airport to just go out and do some sight seeing would/should you open a flight plan? There would be no stops inbetween. The distance would be say 20 to 30 NM away from the home airport.
2. Using the same numbers above can I get Flight Following for this or is Flight Following just for when you are going from one airport to your destination airport. I am not sure if they will help if a pilot is just going out to see some sights.
Thank you again for everyone's help  |
1. There is no specific 'should' to opening a flight plan. The idea is that if you are laying out in the wilderness with some broken legs and no cell reception you can have the peace of mind that they are going to come looking for you (and hey, you even told them where to look). Distance from the airport doesn't really matter to me. How far you are from civilization is probably a more important factor. Your call. Flight plans also help you manage fuel, analyze wx, look at routing, find out about notam/tfr's, etc.
2. ATC is great. They will really try hard to help you get whatever you want, but they have their priorities. Mostly they fit everyone in though.
It's not so different then if you were going out camping or hiking. Sometimes it feels good to set off into the wilderness alone, with the intent of being self sufficient. Knowing you are on your own can add some excitement to the journey. Of course, tell that to the guy who had to cut off his own arm when he got stuck canyoneering in southern Utah... never hurts to let someone know where you are going and when to expect your return, even if it is just a buddy.
Personally, for that flight I prob wouldn't do 1 or 2, but I am lazy.