VFR flight following on your cross-country and the radio call that puts a second pair of eyes on your airplane

VFR flight following is the single easiest way to make every cross-country flight safer, and it costs nothing but a radio call. Formally called VFR radar advisory service, it puts a controller’s radar screen to work for you—tracking your position, watching for nearby traffic, and calling out conflicts before they become emergencies. You don’t need an instrument flight plan or special equipment beyond a transponder and a radio.

What Is VFR Flight Following and How Does It Work?

When you request flight following, a controller at an approach or center facility monitors your radar target. They see you, they see the traffic around you, and when something is headed your way, they call it out.

There’s an important distinction here. Flight following is not the same level of service that IFR aircraft receive. You are still VFR. You are still responsible for see-and-avoid. The controller provides traffic advisories on a workload-permitting basis—that phrase matters, because it means the service can be denied when controllers are saturated with higher-priority traffic.

What you get is a second pair of eyes backed by radar, and that changes your risk profile dramatically on a cross-country.

How Do I Request Flight Following in the Air?

This is where most students freeze up. The radio call is simpler than you think. It has four pieces of information: who you’re calling, who you are, where you are, and what you want.

Example call: “Kansas City Approach, Cessna 172 34A, ten miles south of Lee’s Summit, level at four thousand five hundred, request VFR flight following to Columbia Regional.”

That’s it. Facility name, full callsign, position, altitude, and destination. Including your aircraft type in the initial call helps the controller know what kind of target to expect on their scope.

Before You Transmit

Step 1: During preflight planning, find the approach control frequencies along your route. They’re printed on the sectional chart near Class Bravo and Class Charlie airspace depictions, or listed in the Chart Supplement (formerly the Airport/Facility Directory). You can also ask your departure tower or ground controller for the frequency.

Step 2: Practice the call out loud on the ground before you key the mic. Get it smooth before you transmit.

What the Controller Says Back

If they can take you, expect something like: “Cessna 34A, squawk 4217, Columbia altimeter 30.02.” You get a transponder code and the local altimeter setting. You’re now in the system.

If they can’t, you’ll hear: “Unable flight following at this time.” That’s the workload-permitting clause in action. Thank them, read back the instruction, and continue VFR. You can try again in a few minutes or contact the next sector.

How Do I Get Flight Following From a Towered Airport?

This is even simpler. Include the request in your initial call to ground:

“Ground, Cessna 172 34A at the south ramp, VFR to Columbia Regional, request flight following.”

Ground will either assign your squawk code on the spot or tell you to contact departure on a specific frequency after takeoff. Tower and approach coordinate behind the scenes, so by the time you’re airborne, a controller is already watching you.

What Should I Do Once I’m on Flight Following?

Responding to Traffic Calls

The controller will use clock position relative to your nose, distance, direction of travel, and approximate altitude read from radar. For example: “Cessna 34A, traffic, eleven o’clock, five miles, southbound, altitude indicates four thousand three hundred.”

• If you see it: “Cessna 34A, traffic in sight.”
• If you don’t: “Cessna 34A, looking” or “negative contact.”

Never say “traffic in sight” unless you actually have eyes on the airplane. That defeats the entire purpose.

Frequency Changes

If you need to switch frequencies—say, to listen to an AWOS for destination weather—tell the controller first: “Cessna 34A, request frequency change to monitor Columbia weather.” They’ll approve it. Listen to the weather, then check back in. Disappearing without notice makes the controller think something happened to you.

Altitude Changes

You’re VFR, so you can change altitude at will. But tell the controller. They’re building traffic advisories based on your reported position. A simple “Kansas City Center, Cessna 34A, leaving four thousand five hundred descending to three thousand five hundred” keeps the picture accurate.

Handoffs and Termination

As you cross sector boundaries, controllers hand you off to the next facility. When checking in with a new controller, include your altitude: facility name, callsign, altitude.

When the controller says “radar service terminated, squawk VFR, frequency change approved,” switch your transponder back to 1200 and continue on your own.

Why Should Every Cross-Country Pilot Use Flight Following?

Traffic Awareness

Mid-air collisions in VFR conditions remain one of the deadliest categories of general aviation accidents. In hazy conditions where visibility is technically VFR but picking out a white airplane against a white sky is nearly impossible, radar-backed traffic calls can be lifesaving. The scan technique taught in training is good, but radar is better.

Airspace Simplification

Controllers on flight following often coordinate with towers along your route. If your path takes you near or through Class Charlie airspace, the controller may clear you through without requiring a separate frequency change and request. That dramatically reduces cockpit workload on a busy cross-country.

Immediate Help When Things Go Wrong

If you get disoriented, lose GPS, have an engine problem, or encounter deteriorating weather, you’re already talking to someone who knows exactly where you are. No fumbling for frequencies. No figuring out who to call. The controller can provide vectors to the nearest airport, relay weather at fields you can’t see, and coordinate emergency services.

Checkride Value

The Airman Certification Standards for the private pilot cross-country task specifically reference the use of available resources and services. Requesting flight following demonstrates situational awareness and sound decision-making to an examiner.

A Typical Flight Following Scenario

You’re departing a small uncontrolled field for an airport 120 nautical miles south. Your route passes a Class Charlie airport about 40 miles out, then through rural airspace.

After departure, you climb to 5,500 feet, dial the approach frequency from your navlog, and make the call. You get a squawk code.

Twenty minutes in, the controller calls traffic at your two o’clock, eight miles, opposite direction, altitude indicates five thousand. You look—nothing. You respond “looking.” A minute later: one o’clock, three miles. You spot a low-wing airplane slightly above, headed straight at you. The controller cut your search time in half.

Approaching the Charlie, the controller clears you through at 5,500. No descent under the shelf, no deviation around it.

Sixty miles from your destination, radar service is terminated. You switch back to 1200 and continue independently. But for the bulk of that flight, someone was watching.

Practical Tips for Using Flight Following

• Write approach frequencies on your navlog during preflight planning. Don’t try to unfold a sectional in turbulence while flying.
• Practice your initial call out loud on the ground before transmitting.
• If you miss something, ask the controller to say again. That’s their job.
• On a handoff, check in with the new controller using facility name, callsign, and altitude.
• If terminated or denied, don’t take it personally. Try again in ten minutes or contact the next sector.

Key Takeaways

• VFR flight following is free, requires only a transponder and radio, and no flight plan is needed
• The radio call is four parts: who you’re calling, who you are, where you are, and what you want
• Controllers can say no when workload is heavy—this is normal, not a rejection
• Stay communicative while on flight following: report altitude changes, request frequency changes before switching, and respond honestly to traffic calls
• The best pilots use it every time—flight following is a tool, not a crutch, and the FAA provides this service specifically for general aviation

References: Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 4, Section 1; Airman Certification Standards, Private Pilot Cross-Country Task.