Flight Following through Class Charlie airspace

[Flybob37]

While on Flight Following in SoCal we were flying at 5500 feet, at the time we were over Burbank Class Charlie airspace (tops at 4800 feet). ATC told us we could desend to 4500 feet, as we were about 15 miles from our destination (El Monte). I was wondering if that meant we were cleared into the Class Charlie airspace but assumed since he told us we could descend we must be. I read some other posts on here that now make me believe that I was, but would only take a couple of seconds to verify, so I will verify in the future.

But here's where it gets complicated for me. Just as I'm about to descend through 4800 and be in the Class Charlie airspace my co-pilot (we trade off each leg, one person flies while the other navigates and runs the radios) says to ATC "We'd like to sqawk VFR and resume own navigation"....ATC releases us as requested. I immediately started climbing and chewing his butt off. I have no idea why he did that (well, we have only one radio and he might have been wanting to call for the ATIS at El Monte, but he could have asked to leave the frequency for a second to do that....and on further questioning he couldn't think of why he did it.)

So the question is....am I right that once he broke it off with Flight Following we were NOT cleared into the Class Charlie airspace?

Another Class Charlie-related question. We were returning from Santa Barbara and it was my first time taking off from Class Charlie airspace. They handed us off to Flight Following (which we obviously stayed on until the previously mentioned incident) without asking for it. Is this the norm for Class Charlie airspace? Do they just do it autmatically without you asking for it? If we didn't want it should we have told Delivery that in the initial callup? Or just cancel after we were outside of their Delivery area (not that we don't like it, just sometimes don't want it)?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

[sdfcvoh]

You do need to be in radio communications with ATC for entrance into Class C. If you break off those communications, I would have to say that you no longer meet that criteria. But, that said, I'm surprised that you were able to squawk VFR in their airspace. I would think that they wouldha ve said "remain on my frequency while in class C."

As to the second question: Clearance delivery usually asks for either direction of departure or destination (as well as location on the airport and requested altitude.) Sort of going back to the first answer/confusion - anytime you are in Class C, you basically are on flight following with them. I've noticed when leaving class C, it basically depends on how busy the service center is. Sometimes even on FF, I'm told to squawk VFR when leaving C. If the controller seems super busy, I'll just comply, then contact Center on my own.

Sometimes if it isn't busy, I've been asked by ATC whether or not I want to be passed off to Center for FF, or just request VFR. I'm sure there is a pattern they are supposed to follow - but it seems to depend greatly upon the busyness of ATC, ... sometimes there are controllers that you get used to having a little attitude - they'll tell you to squawk VFR when you're heading straight into a supercell once you leave their airspace. (Thats an exception, though!)

Hope that helps.

[Fly_Unity]

As long as ATC says your callsign, your cleared into class C airspace, you dont need to hear "Cleared into class C airspace" (Unlike class Bravo)

Also I had ATC a couple times tell me to "squawk VFR, radio frequency change approved" while I was inside class Charlie, and class Bravo, everytime I was just transiting through their airspace in the middle of the night, and our destinations was always just outside their airspace

Where I did my training down south, they would never give flight following unless requested, But here in OK, if you tell them your destination, they most likely will give flight following even if you didnt ask, if I dont want it, I just omit the destination, and say "departure to North"

[exleardriver]

Originally Posted by sdfcvoh

You do need to be in radio communications with ATC for entrance into Class C. If you break off those communications, I would have to say that you no longer meet that criteria. But, that said, I'm surprised that you were able to squawk VFR in their airspace. I would think that they wouldha ve said "remain on my frequency while in class C."

+1. i would have expected they'd have requested you keep 'present squawk code' and simply remained on frequency until clear of the class charlie. requesting 'own nav' is always a reasonable request..but curious why your co want to cancel ifr so soon (assuming you were ifr)?