How to Request VFR Flight Following (Script)

Free traffic advisories and a friendly second set of eyes — you just have to ask the right way. Here is the full sequence, what it is and is not, and the etiquette that keeps controllers happy to help. · 8 min read

VFR flight following — officially "radar traffic advisories" — is one of the best habits a new pilot can build. You stay VFR, flying where you want, but a radar controller watches your data block and gives you a heads-up about traffic and sometimes terrain or weather. It is like having a second, tireless set of eyes for free. Getting comfortable requesting and using it early makes you a safer, more connected pilot, and it demystifies talking to Approach and Center long before you need them for anything harder.

What it is — and what it is NOT

Understanding the limits keeps you safe. Flight following is an advisory, workload-permitting service. That means:

You are still VFR. You remain fully responsible for see-and-avoid, for staying clear of clouds, and for not busting airspace. ATC calling traffic does not replace your own scan.
It is workload-permitting. On a busy day a controller may say "unable" or drop you. That is not personal — it just means they cannot give you the attention the service requires right then.
They call traffic they see on radar, which is most of it — but not all. A no-transponder aircraft can still be out there, so keep looking outside.

Who to call, and finding the frequency

You want the Approach/Center facility that owns the airspace you are in. Ways to find the frequency: it is printed on the sectional near the airspace, on the chart supplement for nearby airports, on ForeFlight/apps, or you can ask a nearby tower "who do I call for flight following?" If you truly do not know, calling the nearest Approach or the appropriate Center works — they will route you.

The request

Give the four pieces, plus the details ATC needs to find and tag you: your aircraft type (helps them ID you), position, altitude, and destination. A clean request sounds like:

🎙 You say “Norcal Approach, Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, one-zero miles south of Livermore, 4,500, request VFR flight following to Sacramento.”

Facility · callsign · position · altitude · request + destination.

A nice habit on a busy frequency: make a short "pre-call" first — "Norcal Approach, Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, request flight following" — and wait for them to say "aircraft requesting, go ahead" before giving the full details. It stops you from dumping a long call on top of other traffic.

Squawk, ident, radar contact

They will usually assign a discrete transponder code and ask you to ident (press the IDENT button — it is an action, not a word you transmit):

📻 ATC says “Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, squawk 0412 and ident.”

🎙 You say “Squawk 0412, ident, Five-Two-Kilo.”

When they have you, they say "radar contact" (often with your position, "radar contact one-zero miles south of Livermore"). Now you are in the system and they will start calling traffic to you.

Using the service: traffic calls

Traffic is called by clock position, distance, direction, and often altitude: "Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, traffic, two o’clock, three miles, opposite direction, altitude indicates 4,500." Twelve o’clock is straight ahead; three o’clock is off your right wing. You respond with whether you see it:

📻 ATC says “Traffic, two o’clock, three miles, opposite direction.”

🎙 You say “Looking for traffic, Five-Two-Kilo.”

Say "traffic in sight" only if you actually see it; otherwise "looking" or "negative contact."

Altitude changes and handoffs

While receiving flight following, tell ATC before you change altitude ("Five-Two-Kilo, leaving 4,500, climbing 6,500"). As you cross into another facility’s airspace, they hand you off: "contact Norcal Approach on 121.3." You read back the frequency, switch, and check in with the new controller by callsign and altitude.

Ending the service

When you no longer want it — landing at a non-towered field, or entering a tower’s airspace — tell them, and squawk VFR (1200) when they say to:

🎙 You say “Norcal Approach, Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, cancel flight following, thanks for the help.”

A quick thank-you goes a long way with a controller who watched out for you.

💡 If a controller answers "standby" or is clearly slammed, wait — do not step on the frequency. Try again when it quiets down. And do not take a "unable flight following" personally; just keep your own scan sharp and try the next facility.

💡 The only way this becomes automatic is saying it out loud, dozens of times, before you key a live mic. That is exactly what ATCpal is for — practice the flight-following request, the squawk/ident sequence, and answering a traffic call. Practice it free at atcpal.app.

Phraseology sourced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, effective 9 July 2026) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Check the AIM · Last reviewed 13 August 2026.

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