Flight Following is a service that seems to only have come around in the last year or so. "It's radar services outside controlled airspace whilst you are still on radar. If you are departing CTA you'll probably keep your code. If you are outside CTA from the start they will 'bag and tag' (hope I've got that right) you on code 1200. They'll keep a sartime, give traffic updates, footy scores and anything else you may require. If you change altitudes they will generally call you also. I got a call from them recently, I was at 7,500ft and climbed towards 9,500ft... they said "VX-ABC I see you've 'drifted' up to 9,500ft, there is no conflicting traffic at 9,500ft." I'm sure there's a website somewhere about it... it's a good service. Nice and reassuring for your passengers too to know that you are being watched."
As someone who is old enough to have been flying around in the "olden days" when even VFR flights could go full reporting, I don't know why we don't go back to a similar system - then everyone might know what is going on.
Flight Following appears to be very similar to the old full reporting (except you don't report cause they have you on radar anyway).
These days it is just so much easier to get weather and notams and submit a flightplan on the internet.
For a period there it seemed like ATC didn't want to know anything about you if you were VFR.
You could jump in you aeroplane at somewhere like YBTL and just call up an ask for a clearance to exit the zone - minimum of fuss and bother. Now you get "Standby while I put your details in the system" - and you wait 5 min for a clearance.
Now try flying VFR from Ingham to Innisfail at 6500. When you get to about Dunk Is, ATC start to get really nervous that you are going to penetrate CS airspace, and they start calling you.
It seems to me that the the ATC system is now set up for Recreation Pilots who generally stay down low, are usually in something slow and don't usually interact with controlled airspace, and the IFR stuff.
If you are on an IFR plan it doesn't make much difference if you are in a 172 or 747, you get treated pretty much the same (except for some priorities).
The group that appear to have been forgotten are the private (and commercial) VFR operations that are using an aircraft for business or pleasure to go somewhere.
I am fortunate these days that I have a capable IFR aircraft, and generally don't have to pay the charges associated with operating on an IFR plan myself. However, for the first ten years of my flying career I used my licence for business related travel all over Qld - VFR.
Just make "Flight Following" the same as the old "Full Reporting" and life would be a great deal simpler for VFR pilots and ATC.
Dr