Over the years, I've been filing fewer and fewer FSS flight plans.

It is not that I don't leave a flight plan with instructions of what to do if I don't check in, but I don't use the "official" system. Some of this is because of where I fly and the difficulty of reaching a FSS by radio. Some is because, after it was contracted out, my service has degraded to the point of being near useless and not reliable - lost flight plans, mistakes, slow response, FSS radio issues, etc.

I'm wonder for what percentage of x-country flights most of us do file? I'm at only about 15% on a good year.

I've only been flying since 2007ish and only used Flight Plans with the FSS during my flight training and solo xcountry's. Before I parked my plane in the hangar over a year ago , most of my flying has been local or in the mountains. Even when I flew down to SoCal and back to the Boise area a couple of times, I didn't use FSS.

The flight plan that I use is calling and texting select friends and family members letting them know when and where I'm flying and I always have the SPOT on the track mode. And I use the "OK" button on the SPOT many times through out the flight, too.

I guess the one good thing about using FSS, is that they can help you be informed about any updated TFR's, NOTAMS, Wx along your planned route.

I usually like to talk to someone when flying x-country. I generally end up using flight following probably 90% of the time when I'm a single flight (as apposed to formation or a group of planes), instead of filing a flight plan.

When I'm out of range of ATC I feel better when I file a flight plan. For example, for the last dozen years or so, I fly from here in Oregon to So. Cal. about twice a year. When I feel the need to change up the scenery of the San Joanquin valley I like to buzz down the coast low and slow. Contact with ATC between 500'-1000' is less than intermittent, so I will file with FSS and contact them along the route everytime I get to a spot with reception just to let them know I'm not swimming. When the cliff tops are above me and drop vertically right down to the water , It kind of makes the nerviousness out way the enjoyment, but the cliffs come in short bursts along the rought so I stay down for the view and scan the engine instruments probably every 30 seconds.

I wish the FAA and media had a better way of documenting on an accident investigation/news report "NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED" like that was the cause of the accident, cause I just don't think it's always necessary to file one.


Tom

The only ones I ever filed are what was required to get my licenses, (other then what was required to fly across Canada and the US border crossings). That was 11,000 hours ago.

I file on any cross country. Even multi-day trips landing in the backcountry with limited check-ins available, I still file for the entire flight. I have a master flight plan on file with Kenai FSS and they have my spot page there. Doesn't cost me anything to file, may help some day to have done so. My two cents.

I use them when flying around LA. You have to use them to cross into Mexico or Canada. I have used them for my IFR adventures. All in all satisfied. But I wasn't flying in the old days so I only know the new system. They have always been professional with me. There is room for improvement and there is a mechanism to send your suggestions.

Best use is to check TFRs after my TFR SNAFU I learned only FSS or DUATS counts. XM or FAA or all the other internet places you can go don't count.

Cheers

... Even multi-day trips landing in the backcountry with limited check-ins available...

Yes that is a good thing, but it is only avilable in AK and Canada. Ask for one of thise in the lower 48 and FSS won't even know what you are talking about. At least that was the case the last ime I tried.

...TFR SNAFU I learned only FSS or DUATS counts...

Bummer Rob! I guess I didn't hear about that.

I also just use my Spot and let someone know where I'm going. It works good for me.

RobBurson wrote:I use them when flying around LA.

FSS or VFR Flight Following?

When I'm down in the LA/OC area (LA Terminal area), I diffidently use VFR Flight Following most of the time. Makes getting around and through all that airspace a lot easier for an outsider. I found most all them ATC in that area to be very friendly and helpful (especially them guys at Fullerton tower).

When I am flying anything other then a local flight, ie 25 miles or so I call FSS and get a briefing for TFR's. Notams, etc... I have not filed a VFR flight plan in 20 years or more. On all my X country stuff I ALWAYS use Flight following as they are one click away on the radio in case something real bad happens... Even if they loose me on radar coverage their radio seems to always be up.. I can get out a quick call for them to get a fix on me to send help.. A flight plan 'might' get them coming to look for ya hours later. I am a guy,, I want instant gratification.

Ben.

blackrock wrote:

... Even multi-day trips landing in the backcountry with limited check-ins available...

Yes that is a good thing, but it is only avilable in AK and Canada. Ask for one of thise in the lower 48 and FSS won't even know what you are talking about. At least that was the case the last ime I tried.

Not true. Multi day flight plans are available. You just have to tell them to do it.

Also, L/M DOES have the ability to enter a "pilot profile", which can include basic information, frequently flown routes, and POSSIBLY, a SPOT/Spidertracks/etc tracking page. A supervisor in L/M is working on that one. It's fine with L/M, but the FAA has to bless everything.

I believe that Lockheed Martin has GREATLY improved their service in the last year or two, which is a direct reflection of user feedback. One thing I would point out, however, is that Flight Service in general is the bastard stepchild of the FAA. I really believe if the FAA could do away with FSS, they'd do it in a heartbeat.

BUT, FSS does still provide some good services, IF we choose to use them. Flight planning is one of those services.

Finally, if you choose to flight plan with friends/loved ones, etc.....Make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that those folks know several things:

1) Precisely WHEN and under what circumstances they should declare an emergency for you, and initiate a search.

2) Precisely WHO they should call to initiate the Search and Rescue. Telling them to call the FAA isn't good enough. And, by the way, if you're flying to a different state, do you know WHO has primary responsibility for Search and Rescue??? Is it CAP, the State Troopers, State Aeronautics or ????? How are you going to ENSURE that your backup folks know WHO to call??? This is one of the HUGE differences between ELT activations and a SPOT 811 call, for example.

I have seen several situations where a spouse/family member left at home with minimal information has been faced with a terrible situation, and no information on when or how to initiate a SAR.

Flight Service owns the panic button. They know how to initiate a search, and they have the credibility with SAR to get it done.

I'm a big believer in flight plans filed with AFSS.

MTV

I don't file VFR unless I have to, but...

I have learned the hard way to check with FSS or DUATS before EVERY flight here in the wilds of Nevada. Even a warm the oil up in the pattern flight.

I left Hawthorne a few years back at about 0430 for a work flight. Didn't call or check anything with FSS. Why? I was flying from middle of nowhere to middle of nowhere. Preflight, runup, and launch into the dark on a beautiful desert morning with coffee in my hand and XM radio providing the mood music.

At about 500 ft AGL the screen on the Garmin suddenly turned this red crosshatched color, and a warning flag for restricted airspace popped up. Gotta tell you my heart was in my throat, and I'm glad my grandson wasn't riding along to hear the language in the cockpit. F**king military TFR, and I was right in the middle of it. My damn head spun looking for traffic and I expected the "Land Immediately" radio call.

But, nothing happened. Sky was empty and radio quiet, so I pulled up the TFR info on the box. Man oh man did I luck out. Didn't go into effect until 0800 hrs. My heart rate slowly went back to normal and I had an uneventful trip, but I swore never again. Now I check.

Gump

I file quite often though I usually use Foreflight instead of calling. You can configure Foreflight to use DUATS for flight plan filing and briefing so that the record is there.

But about half of the time I use my wife as flight follower instead. Yesterday when I was thirty minutes overdue she called the Bettles Lodge looking for me and chewed my ass for forgetting to call her.

But I still check notams.

58Skylane wrote:

RobBurson wrote:I use them when flying around LA.

FSS or VFR Flight Following?

When I'm down in the LA/OC area (LA Terminal area), I diffidently use VFR Flight Following most of the time. Makes getting around and through all that airspace a lot easier for an outsider. I found most all them ATC in that area to be very friendly and helpful (especially them guys at Fullerton tower).

Done both. More VFR FF

Cheers

If you are in radar and/or radio contact with ATC, thus able to flight follow, you ain't VERY backcountry.

MTV

mtv wrote:If you are in radar and/or radio contact with ATC, thus able to flight follow, you ain't VERY backcountry.

MTV

and, If your cruising up in the nose bleed section......... "You ain't Very Backcountry"

I haven't filed a flight plan since PP training. I usually use Flight Following on VFR cross country - then don't have to worry about remembering to close out a flight plan after arrival, yet it accomplishes essentially the same thing. Never been refused a request for flight following, although occasionally will get canceled before getting to where the destination airport is in sight.

I also carry a Spot with tracking - my wife keeps track of me that way. If I have an emergency and radio comm with ATC isn't working (sometimes happens out here in wilds of New Mexico), the Spot provides pretty reliable coverage.

I'm planning to do IFR cert later this year, so will have to get in the habit of filing flight plans again.

I usually tell them when I'm getting my briefing that I'd like to file at the end of the briefing unless I decide to cancel based on their info. Of course they don't activate it until you call them again but it's not any extra work to have it filed should you decide to use it. I like to open when I'm off the ground because it's usually a comfort to my passengers and departure time is accurate. It stays in the system for 24 hours (I think.) if you don't activate it. I also am a big fan of flight following but I often fly in spotty coverage so I hear the "flight following cancelled" a lot. The only angst for me in filing is remembering to close. If I activate my flight plan, I now (after some emberrassing calls) send myself a message since that's usually what I check when I land. Other guys switch wrists with their watch and don't unswitch it until they've closed. I like to close before I'm on the ground but sometimes atc is too chatty to talk to anyone else. Slightly off topic but I just discovered last year that you can ask for flight following with your clearance, another way to multitask with one call. Something like this will usually do: Podunk clearance, skylane 1234 at Billion Air with whiskey, requesting vfr clearance with flight following west bound to BFK.

I used to rely on SPOT and only SPOT until last year I got into a heap of trouble with the family when the system failed to update the data for the SPOT page in a timely fashion.

Out at the lake with the wife, 2 kids, and parents. I decide to take the kids out for a flight to visit some friends. Around supper time, the wife & parents fire up the SPOT page to see where we are and they see a "last PIN" being about an hour earlier with nothing after that. You can imagine what they were thinking.

All the while we are fine and off to visit someone else at another lake before heading home before it getting dark. After getting home, I got right blasted by both wife and parents. About an hour later, the missing pins showed up on the spot page. Not sure what was going on, but it taught me that I should use my phone a bit more and be a bit more explicit about what my plans are going to be and when I expect to be home.

I love my SPOT, but it isn't 100% all of the time. It's only one of the tools that can/should be used when buzzing around out in the back country.

Cheers