Many of you who listen to wildland firefighting frequencies may not be aware of a frequency known as "National Flight Following." The frequency is 168.6500. Pilots abbreviate the name to just "national." Example "Los Padres, Tanker 910 on national."
On a thread about frequencies used on the current wildland fires in northern California a member posted that he listens to "national" "religiously" and gets a lot of information about the air resources being used on fires and the changing priorities of those fires and aircraft being diverted from their original dispatch as a result. He mentioned that he hears North Ops communicating on remote bases in northern California.
Individual dispatch centers can use Flight Follow as well. I was unaware that North Ops can use a network of remote bases, but this was reported by the member on the other thread. I wonder how they are linked. If by the traditional UHF links the feds use in many locations it would be neat to find out what the frequencies are Listening to the closest downlink, if a person is in range of one, would allow hearing the entire net, which I presume may cover North Ops only. Another may exist for South Ops. On the other hand, the net may allow for operation of one remote base at a time. Traffic on every remote base at the same time would be a bit overwhelming.
However, the net might be linked via microwave using the state's system in a cooperative federal/state effort. I recently confirmed that a National Flight Follow remote base was installed on the Inyo National Forest. It had been one of those forests without one up until the last year or two. I can't figure out the UHF downlink frequency. The Air Guard remote base in the same location has a UHF link frequency I can hear from 30 miles away. This could indicate that Flight Following is linked to the state's microwave backbone.
In other areas of the country, many dispatch centers have local flight following remote bases in addition to "national." Local flight following frequencies are used by aircraft after they arrive in and start working in a dispatch center's area. These frequencies differ from the dispatch center's dispatch network frequencies.
I was not aware of how useful it is to listen to "national" and how extensively it is being used. It is a relatively new network and the frequency was reassigned from its previous use because it already had a nationwide authorization. Given this northern California report everyone should put this frequency in their scanners when listening to wildland fires.
I would love to hear reports from anyone who hears either North or South Ops from a remote base located far from where those centers are located. I'm curios if several of these bases are linked so that these centers can work them over a large area. Right now the fuel moistures in South Ops are wetter than those in the northern portion of the state. However we all know what can happen in southern California in the fall and there might be some activity then.
On a thread about frequencies used on the current wildland fires in northern California a member posted that he listens to "national" "religiously" and gets a lot of information about the air resources being used on fires and the changing priorities of those fires and aircraft being diverted from their original dispatch as a result. He mentioned that he hears North Ops communicating on remote bases in northern California.
Individual dispatch centers can use Flight Follow as well. I was unaware that North Ops can use a network of remote bases, but this was reported by the member on the other thread. I wonder how they are linked. If by the traditional UHF links the feds use in many locations it would be neat to find out what the frequencies are Listening to the closest downlink, if a person is in range of one, would allow hearing the entire net, which I presume may cover North Ops only. Another may exist for South Ops. On the other hand, the net may allow for operation of one remote base at a time. Traffic on every remote base at the same time would be a bit overwhelming.
However, the net might be linked via microwave using the state's system in a cooperative federal/state effort. I recently confirmed that a National Flight Follow remote base was installed on the Inyo National Forest. It had been one of those forests without one up until the last year or two. I can't figure out the UHF downlink frequency. The Air Guard remote base in the same location has a UHF link frequency I can hear from 30 miles away. This could indicate that Flight Following is linked to the state's microwave backbone.
In other areas of the country, many dispatch centers have local flight following remote bases in addition to "national." Local flight following frequencies are used by aircraft after they arrive in and start working in a dispatch center's area. These frequencies differ from the dispatch center's dispatch network frequencies.
I was not aware of how useful it is to listen to "national" and how extensively it is being used. It is a relatively new network and the frequency was reassigned from its previous use because it already had a nationwide authorization. Given this northern California report everyone should put this frequency in their scanners when listening to wildland fires.
I would love to hear reports from anyone who hears either North or South Ops from a remote base located far from where those centers are located. I'm curios if several of these bases are linked so that these centers can work them over a large area. Right now the fuel moistures in South Ops are wetter than those in the northern portion of the state. However we all know what can happen in southern California in the fall and there might be some activity then.
