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I'm guessing the controller wanted to know if you had GPS on board, hence the question. It's why I have asked, and will continue to ask, pilots what equipment is aboard the aircraft.

You have described two different techniques that, depending on the traffic and environmental situation, may prove operationally advantageous or detrimental. Some of our guys issue a HFR as a convenience to the aircraft. Some issue expected route, altitude, and beacon information. In other...

I would have to keep his flight plan active in the system...so I guess after a long enough time I would call the airport to see if the aircraft is still there.

That's a GREAT practice! Well said!

It's not a personal decision. It's procedure. Unless, of course, you know of some rule in the 7110.65 that defines how a controller should issue IFR HFR clearances to pilots who are not yet ready for departure. What I'd especially like seeing is the section that entails what do I do if the...

Maybe at an airport without any other IFR traffic...we do this occasionally with our uncontrolled airport if our traffic levels have died down. I got burned doing this...so I've stopped engaging in the practice.

Then you are doing it wrong...

Or...call the facility and inform ATC that you will be departing VFR and would like a heads up of the frequency, squawk, and route. Let the facility know what time you think you'll depart, and that you plan on receiving your clearance in the air.

Yeah, it's that simple. That's why we sometimes have to deny services. When we can't provide traffic advisories and safety alerts to you, we terminate your services. Can you confirm that the controller who cleared an IFR aircraft "through you" did not inform the IFR aircraft of you? Can you...

We provide the same radar services we do to IFR aircraft. We don't apply the same separation minima. A common misconception. In the terminal environment, you may call me up for flight following. I'm not busy. The controller working the airspace your aircraft will eventually traverse is...

Could be. Hard to say for sure.

That's how I took it. More likely Local made a mistake and interjected humor to alleviate an obvious faux pas.

Big proponent of "just culture" here. It has helped our industry in huge ways, and I hope the powers that be ensure it stays long enough to become engrained in everything we do.

Im sure there is, somewhere?

Yes. Each facility gets assigned a subset of codes for internal usage.

Exactly.

That's firing off a few neurons in my noodle, could have something to do with it. 99% of the time, it's technique. Don't sweat it, if something is amiss, the controller will let you know.

Outstanding save. Great work by the controller.

Yes. Turn the transponder off, then turn it back on and set the code. I had the reasoning explained years ago in training, but have long since forgotten. Personally I only do it if a mode c or discrepancy persists. Otherwise it's, "squawk XXXX."

John's explanation is sound. Nicely put. I see VFR targets (on ARTS it's a square symbol, on ERAM it's a V or I symbol) with Mode C altitude on my scope. Since I have no way of verifying the validity of the readout, I state in a traffic call "altitude indicates." As an aside, this is...