Flight Following during furlough experiences

[GusMcRae]

I'd like to know if anyone that has flown VFR xc this week, or does so in the weeks to come, notices anything different in the way they are handled by ATC when requesting flight following. 
I feel that ATC will continue to do all they can, but just curious what anyone notices,,, good, bad, or otherwise.  I know they put VFR on the back burner already if they are swamped, just wondering if they are swamped more now.
IFR pilots might offer what they observe in the way of ATC handling VFR requests over the frequencies as well.   
Post your experiences/observations here.

[gotyacovered]

I'd like to know if anyone that has flown VFR xc this week, or does so in the weeks to come, notices anything different in the way they are handled by ATC when requesting flight following. 
I feel that ATC will continue to do all they can, but just curious what anyone notices,,, good, bad, or otherwise.  I know they put VFR on the back burner already if they are swamped, just wondering if they are swamped more now.
IFR pilots might offer what they observe in the way of ATC handling VFR requests over the frequencies as well.   
Post your experiences/observations here.

Sunday/Monday Fort Worth on 126.32 was busy--real busy. I couldn't get in to cancel inbound to Ruston and it took me abnormally long to get them to answer outbound for VFR advisories enroute.

[RNC]

Flew to DFW during the Presidential TFRs yesterday from North Little Rock.  MEM was telling VFR people moving between uncontrolled fields flat out 'no' in response to VFR following requests.

I had to file to get into DFW and they still tried to cut me off around 40 miles out.  Controller says "lost radar contact switch to local and squawk VFR".  I respond that I'm not near an airport, there is no local frequency and I need to remain on the line to get to my destination due to the TFRs.  In effect I just called "bullsh*t" on him since I knew he was lying about losing radar contact, I was at 8500 only 40 miles out from the bravo.

He just repeated himself, so I switched him off without responding, called up DFW approach when I got close enough and got a new squawk and went from there.

I get that they're pissed, and rightfully so, but I'm not gonna get harassed or lied to by them either, without at least a little jab back on the way out the door.

[HogScoutMaster]

Flying out of MEM Thursday heading to Orlando

I hope this gets fixed SOON

[gotyacovered]

just another reason for us to get instrument rated, no radar bump then!!!

let us know how your trip goes

[GusMcRae]

Controller says "lost radar contact switch to local and squawk VFR".

SPS typically closes on the weekends, so if I'm flying East late on a Friday, or a Sat/Sun, I call Ft Worth Center for FF.  If it's a weekday, I call SPS, they pass me off to FtW center after passing SPS airspace.  There is a gap in radar coverage over SPS in which Ft Worth Center loses me (if SPS is closed for the day/weekend), but picks me up on the other side, and they tell me that,,, something like "I'm going to lose you for a few minutes, but I'll pick you back up in 10 minutes or so".   If I'm on my way home, after they pick me back up, it's not long before I cancel FF anyway.  But the
last couple of flights, I'm getting what RNC says above. 

The only other thing I've noticed is that pre-furlough, I typically had to cancel my FF, sometimes as close as 10-12 miles from my destination.  ATC cancelling me 20-30 miles from my destination seems to be the norm now. 

For some reason SPS was open yesterday, very rare for them to be in operation on a Sunday, so I had called FtW center, and they just told me I needed to contact SPS and make my request with them. 

[RNC]

Everything seems back to normal around DFW now, flew a couple times since the ending of the furloughs and the DFW controllers were back to their normal polite selves.