ArVeeNiner
Well Known Member
I may be flying down to the LA area from Northern California on Monday. I've only flown down there 2 or 3 times in a GA airplane.
I recall on one occasion, after taking off from Fullerton, I contacted ATC and asked for flight following to KRHV, my home airport over 3 hours away (via Aeronca). I remember the controller telling me that he couldn't give me FF for that entire route and asked if there was another destination I wanted. I was puzzled so we played a bit of a guessing game. He asked if there was a point north of the LA basin that I'd like to go to. I guessed the Gorman VOR which was along my intended route of flight. Bingo! He cleared me to Gorman and once I got there, I was dropped.
My guess is that the SoCal controllers are so busy that they'll be happy to get you out of the area and after that, you're on your own.
Questions:
-When leaving, should I even bother giving them my entire route back to Northern California or should I just pick a point that is just outside the LA basin as my destination?
-If I do elect to just give them a truncated route, I would imagine that once dropped, I ought to wait until I'm in another sector to reestablish the rest of my FF route. For instance, I'm planning to fly up the coast a bit. If I tell them that Malibu is my destination for FF, should I wait until I'm near Pt. Magu before I call back up (on a different frequency)? The reason for this is to avoid calling up the same controller that just dropped me.
Thanks.
I recall on one occasion, after taking off from Fullerton, I contacted ATC and asked for flight following to KRHV, my home airport over 3 hours away (via Aeronca). I remember the controller telling me that he couldn't give me FF for that entire route and asked if there was another destination I wanted. I was puzzled so we played a bit of a guessing game. He asked if there was a point north of the LA basin that I'd like to go to. I guessed the Gorman VOR which was along my intended route of flight. Bingo! He cleared me to Gorman and once I got there, I was dropped.
My guess is that the SoCal controllers are so busy that they'll be happy to get you out of the area and after that, you're on your own.
Questions:
-When leaving, should I even bother giving them my entire route back to Northern California or should I just pick a point that is just outside the LA basin as my destination?
-If I do elect to just give them a truncated route, I would imagine that once dropped, I ought to wait until I'm in another sector to reestablish the rest of my FF route. For instance, I'm planning to fly up the coast a bit. If I tell them that Malibu is my destination for FF, should I wait until I'm near Pt. Magu before I call back up (on a different frequency)? The reason for this is to avoid calling up the same controller that just dropped me.
Thanks.