We’ve talked many times about techniques for picking up VFR flight following with ATC. Let’s go one step further and look at the process in a real time animation. Before you click the link at the bottom of this article to see the animation, a few notes.
- The animation used in this lesson is part of a larger program I am working to teach the language of ATC. You’ll hear more about that program in future articles at this website.
- Everything you see and hear in this animation is technique. There are different ways to communicate with ATC to pick up flight following. I’m demonstrating here what I found works best for me.
- A replay button will appear at the end of the animation. You may want to replay the animation a few times to catch all of the details. For example, note how the radar target for Cessna 5217T changes as the scenario progresses.
- The radar display in the animation is a highly simplified version of the Enroute Automation Modernization (ERAM) radar display used by enroute controllers.
This link will take you another of my websites, aircraftradiosim.com, a holding place for testing programs in development. You will be presented with a link to return to ATCcommunication.com at the end of the animation.