Proper VFR Radio Contacts procedure before and during a flight

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JasonM

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I am just getting into my training and was wondering this. What is the process that is expected for VFR flights to communicate from a to z.

Lets assume, I already filed my flight plan and just got into my airplane. What is the proper procedure I should be making?

First contact:
Then contact:
Then: etc.. etc..

Thanks for your help..
 
JasonM said:
I am just getting into my training and was wondering this. What is the process that is expected for VFR flights to communicate from a to z.

Lets assume, I already filed my flight plan and just got into my airplane. What is the proper procedure I should be making?

First contact:
Then contact:
Then: etc.. etc..

Thanks for your help..
Click to expand...

Jason...this is a topic your CFI should be drilling into your head. For more information, check out AIM 4-2 for details.
 
Correct. Should be something your CFI has taught you already, but give us your airport identifier and in sure we can give you a run down of who to contact and what order.
 
I can ask him, It was something that I was wondering now and thought I could find this easily on the internet somewhere. I will look into the AIM 4-2.

I was hoping to find an easy list to follow for help.

Something like: Class B

Contact, 1st: Clearance Delivery, 2nd: Ground, 3rd: Tower etc..

but for all the different airspace's.

Local airport in non controlled, 2G4. But I will be flying in and out of most different airspace's soon. Just wanted to be prepared.
 
JasonM said:
I can ask him, It was something that I was wondering now and thought I could find this easily on the internet somewhere. I will look into the AIM 4-2.

I was hoping to find an easy list to follow for help.

Something like: Class B

Contact, 1st: Clearance Delivery, 2nd: Ground, 3rd: Tower etc..

but for all the different airspace's.

Local airport in non controlled, 2G4. But I will be flying in and out of most different airspace's soon. Just wanted to be prepared.
Click to expand...

Who you are calling and who you are and stop, " Miami Approach, 69SA"

When they acknowledge you reidentify yourself with your aircraft type and / along with a brief relative position and altitude with your request. "69SA Twin Cessna 310/G 20 miles north out of seven thousand fife hundred inbound for landing."

Is that what you were looking for?
 
Not the actual verb-age I need to use with them per-say, but the proper order of whom to contact.
 
Depends where you are and what you want, but you want to start with ATIS as it will normally spell out the procedures. Generally inbound it will be Center, approach, tower then ground and out bound Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, Departure, & Center. You can skip everything but ground and tower at most places.
 
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JasonM said:
Not the actual verb-age I need to use with them per-say, but the proper order of whom to contact.
Click to expand...
Something you'll hear a lot during your aviation career: It depends.

Generally speaking, in the broadest terms, it will be something like this: Clearance delivery -> Ground -> Tower -> Departure -> Center -> Approach -> Tower -> Ground.

Of course, you would eliminate those that don't apply to your specific flight. What also makes it pretty easy is that the current controller will generally tell you who to contact next, and on which frequency.
 
Here's a simple map my primary CFI drew for me:

photo.JPG



The airport on the left is a Class C or B airport. It has a tower and approach. The airport on the right is a Class D...it just has a tower. Everything in the middle is controlled by ARTCC (Air Route Traffic Control Center). You only talk to them if you are IFR or if you want flight following.

The tower just controls the runways. When you are on the ground you need tower only if you want to use the runways...which is useful if you want to takeoff or land. If you just want to drive around on the ground then you talk to...wait for it...'ground'.

Now...if it's a Class C or Class B then you are going to need a squak code. Normally you call Clearance Delivery to get that. Any airport with an approach control (Class C and Class B) is going to want to give you that squak code for your transponder. Class D could normally care less about that.

So you get in your plane and want to go fly. Who do you call first? Well, first step for all of 'em is to get the ATIS. Once you have that then ask yourself, 'self, is there an approach? (are you in Class C or B?) If yes then call Clearance Delivery and tell them where you are going. They will give you a squak code. If no then call ground and tell them where you are going.

Once you're done with Clearance Delivery (if applicable) then call Ground and tell them you're ready to taxi. They will give you instructions to get to the active runway. Probably should write it down. Off you go. When you're short of the runway call tower.

Tower will clear you to take off, tell you to line up and wait, or tell you to hold short. Do what they say.

After you take off tower will hand you off to Departure. Departure and Approach are the same people. The term 'Departure' and 'Approach' only help them know which way you are going when you call them. Any way, if your airport has them then they will hand you off to them. If they don't then tower will tell you to 'have a nice day' once clear of the Class D.

If you want flight following then you are going to want ARTCC. They own all the airspace between the airports above the Class G (Uncontrolled).

This will all be covered by your CFI. Really, I promise. Good luck!
 
And the only confusing part is that you might never talk to center. I fly for hours around Ohio, Michigan, PA, and West VA on flight following and only ever talk to approach controllers.

Captain, did you really keep that drawing from your primary training, or did you re-draw it for this post? =)
 
ummm...no, i just re-drew it.
 
Hey JM - The other responses are more comprehensive than mine, but in case it helps, here's a script I prepared early on in order to conceptualize and practice my radio work while driving around between flight lessons. It's specific to a Class C aiport in California called John Wayne (KSNA), and also to a particular practice area, but it gives you an idea of the sequence I first encountered (Clearance, Ground, Tower to depart and Approach, Tower, Ground to return).

Take it for what it's worth as I'm still a student.

Joe

http://www.teamandras.com/temp/Typi...dent at John Wayne - 2012-11-17 - Publish.pdf

Typical%20Comms%20Thumb.jpg
 
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Get the Comm1 CD...it covers it all and gives you examples of how the communication should sound...
 
if you are talking about flying A to Z and both are uncontrolled you dont really need to talk to any one (as long as you stay out of controlled airspace) unless you want to participate in flight following. so you would only be using the CTAF at the airport you are going to and coming from
 
JasonM said:
...VFR flights...filed my flight plan...
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do people still do vfr flight plans ? I haven't heard anyone on the radio opening a vfr flight plan in at least 20 years.
 
JHW said:
do people still do vfr flight plans ? I haven't heard anyone on the radio opening a vfr flight plan in at least 20 years.
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Angel Flight encourages us to have VFR flight plans.
 
JHW said:
do people still do vfr flight plans ? I haven't heard anyone on the radio opening a vfr flight plan in at least 20 years.
Click to expand...


I file a VFR flight plan for every XC flight I do. Of course I fly from an out of the way airport, with much uninhabited rough terrain around. I figure that if go down, the extra hour or two of SAR that flight service would guarantee (vs letting someone know what time I should call them when I get to my destination) might just save my life. If I were to go down, there is a good chance that no one would see the crash, and that I would have no cell service. Even in the summer, overnight temps can get quite low around here, and in the winter it isn't unlikey to see below zero temps.
 
Thanks for the info everyone. I guess my question wasn't really an easy question to get an answer to since it really has allot of different scenarios. I appreciate the drawing and pdf. This is all very helpful.
 
JasonM said:
Not the actual verb-age I need to use with them per-say, but the proper order of whom to contact.
Click to expand...

Good question. I screwed this up a few times before I figured it out. Only had to go to a very lightly used class D in my training.

Do you have foreflight? Or one of the ipad apps that include approach plates?
Even as a VFR pilot, get those plates on your i-pad and saved.

From my experience, any airport large enough for a tower and what not is going to have an airport diagram in the approach plates for that airport. The Airport diagram should have everything you need. It has a detailed map of the taxiways, and a list of the frequencies for the airport.

The list goes like this.

1: ATIS (listen, copy relevant info and the atis code)
2: Clearance Delivery (contact, tell them who you are, where you are, what you want to do 'VFR to KRUQ at 4500 ft' and inform them you have information 'zulu' or whatever the atis code is) Copy the departure freq, any heading and altitude instructions, and taxi instructions if issued

3: Ground (contact and tell them who you are, where you are, and that you are ready to taxi)

4: Tower (once you reach the point ground has cleared you to, call tower and give them something like this 'tower, cessna xxx ready for departure, holding short runway 19')

A lot of airports don't have all of these. If one is missing, skip it. Clnc Del is frequently omitted at smaller towered airports. If so, just contact ground and pretend they are clearance delivery - give them the same spiel on initial call up and tell them who you are, where you are and where you want to go ...
 
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John221us said:
I also highly recommend this book, though Bob should seriously consider publishing this as a Kindle edition (reference to previous thread).
Click to expand...

In the works. BTW, I don't publish anything...ASA does.

Bob
 
HighFlyingA380 said:
Something you'll hear a lot during your aviation career: It depends.

Generally speaking, in the broadest terms, it will be something like this: Clearance delivery -> Ground -> Tower -> Departure -> Center -> Approach -> Tower -> Ground.

Of course, you would eliminate those that don't apply to your specific flight. What also makes it pretty easy is that the current controller will generally tell you who to contact next, and on which frequency.
Click to expand...

That sometimes requires a bit of prodding.;):rolleyes:
 
Yes, and sometimes it takes some "getting started" effort, particularly with nontowered airports. The A/FD isn't always correct, either.

Write down frequencies as you get handed off. This keeps a record of where to go for radar services after you leave the Podunk airport you just arrived at.
 
JHW said:
do people still do vfr flight plans ? I haven't heard anyone on the radio opening a vfr flight plan in at least 20 years.
Click to expand...

I do from time to time (required when flying into an Air Force base), and open either through a phone ("Show me taking off in one minute") or through the local RCO.
 
JasonM said:
I am just getting into my training and was wondering this. What is the process that is expected for VFR flights to communicate from a to z.

Lets assume, I already filed my flight plan and just got into my airplane. What is the proper procedure I should be making?

First contact:
Then contact:
Then: etc.. etc..

Thanks for your help..
Click to expand...

As others have said it really depends. Just need to know who controls the space you are in or you want to get in.
But I have found if you do the three things below it will pretty much cover you most of the time.

Who are you? (Cessna 1234)
Where are you? (at the ramp, 20 miles east of xxx vor on the xxx radial)
What do you want to do? (Get taxi clearance, clearance into their airspace, open a flight plan)
 
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