Definition
An advisory service provided by ATC in which a controller monitors a VFR aircraft on radar and issues traffic advisories and safety alerts as workload permits. The service does not provide separation between aircraft, and the pilot retains full responsibility for navigation, terrain clearance, and seeing and avoiding other traffic.
Plain English
A controller watches your VFR flight on their radar screen and tells you about other aircraft nearby that might be a factor. You're still flying the airplane and staying clear of traffic yourself; the controller is just an extra set of eyes when they have time.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter this when requesting monitoring from air traffic control during flight, commonly after departure or while flying cross-country.
Derivation
Radar was originally short for “radio detection and ranging,” meaning the use of radio waves to detect objects and measure their distance. “Flight following” means following the progress of a flight, not physically following behind it.
Why Pilots Care
It increases situational awareness and reduces the chance of mid-air conflicts without requiring an IFR flight plan or losing pilot-in-command authority over navigation and see-and-avoid decisions.
Intuition Check
Do not read “following” as another aircraft trailing you, or as air traffic control taking over the flight. Here it means a controller is monitoring your flight’s progress on radar while you remain in command.
Example Sentence 1
After departing the pattern, the pilot contacted approach and requested radar flight following to their destination 80 miles north.
Example Sentence 2
While on radar flight following, the controller called traffic at eleven o'clock, three miles, same altitude.