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IFR flight - Contact Radar for flight following?

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m_j_lyons
Post subject: IFR flight - Contact Radar for flight following?
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:22 pm
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Location: Southern CA USA
 
Good afternoon.
Using PF3 successfully with MSFS to complete my OnAir contract flights and I will say I am pretty much satisfied with the services provided. I'm doing most of my flights following IFR rules as while I'm getting from point A to point B as one would expect I've consistently encountered a phraseology issue that i wanted to ask about - and if it's done by design - so be it...it's not a game breaker and I don't really care. And it's possible my flight planning might have caused the issue...read on.

Setup - 35 mile IFR flight from Ontario international (KONT) to Long Beach international (KLGB) - route along a few points and then a 10 mile straight leg to the destination and enroute altitude at 4000 MSL. Pretty straight forward. And while the LA basin is pretty much flat - there is a coastal mountain range south of Ontario Intl right at the turn point to head to Long Beach...those mountains top out around 2800-3300 MSL.

After being handed off from departure to LA Center I get a point where I get told to contact Radar for flight following services. This is what seems weird - why would I be handed off to a [VFR] radar facility while on an IFR flight plan?

I did get pushed to Approach a few minutes later and everything else was as expected landing in Long Beach as the ocean marine layer (ie..fog) rolled across the LA basis this AM.

The only thing that I changed from the MSFS flight plan that it generated for me was that I lowered the enroute altitude from 5000 to 4000. And i did get within 1000 feet of some hills at my last turnpoint - is it possible (or expected) that if the flight goes below the lower boundary of normal IFR airspace (ie - if I'd just filed at 5000 rather than 4000) you get pushed to a VFR facility until back "within" IFR airspace?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers, mike

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Flying the friendly skies of MSFS
XBox handle: mikejenlyons
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A Pilot's Life 2: Michael Lyons

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Dave March
Post subject: Re: IFR flight - Contact Radar for flight following?
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:40 pm
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Sorry I have no idea what happened without seeing the debug_monitor. Log file. Please see the prompt above in red letters

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Dave March

Email: dmarch@oncourse-software.co.uk

I don't know if my memory is getting worse as I get older...
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m_j_lyons
Post subject: Re: IFR flight - Contact Radar for flight following?
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 5:11 am
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Location: Southern CA USA
 
Alright - Happened on three flights in a row now - the last was going from KAVX -> F70 at 7000. Got pushed from departure to center to radar. And the radar push was to request flight following...on an IFR flight plan. And I did get pushed to another controller for the arrival. It's just that odd "radar" control for flight following that is throwing me for a loop.

When PF3 starts up the display confirms the flight plan is IFR.

Log attached from the last flight.

Attachments
debug_monitor.zip
(576.88 KiB) Downloaded 90 times

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Flying the friendly skies of MSFS
XBox handle: mikejenlyons
Discord: m_j_lyons
A Pilot's Life 2: Michael Lyons

-- mike


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Dave March
Post subject: Re: IFR flight - Contact Radar for flight following?
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:09 am
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Location: Sawtry, Cambridgeshire. UK
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If you stay below Control Center airspace you will be handed off to a Radar Control, where necessary... this does not mean your FP has been changed to VFR. Prior to version 3.10 you would have been handed off from one Approach Control facility to another along your route. With 3.10 we introduced 'named' Radar Control facilities which are basically the same as the old Approach facilities.

Later: The terminology 'for flight following' (FAA) or 'for Radar service' (ICAO) is incorrect when flying IFR. This has been corrected and will be in the next release. I was hoping it would be ready today but may be a day or two late

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Cheers

Dave March

Email: dmarch@oncourse-software.co.uk

I don't know if my memory is getting worse as I get older...
...I just can't remember how it used to be!

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m_j_lyons
Post subject: Re: IFR flight - Contact Radar for flight following?
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 7:10 pm
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Posts: 96
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:26 pm
Location: Southern CA USA
 
Ok great - thanks. As I started the post - certainly not a game breaker in any case.

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Flying the friendly skies of MSFS
XBox handle: mikejenlyons
Discord: m_j_lyons
A Pilot's Life 2: Michael Lyons

-- mike


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