flight following - info and any tips?

[omgwereallgoingtodie]

Student pilot - be kind

First time using flight following last weekend. It went fairly smoothly (from my point of view) flying out of CYTZ onto CYKF and then CYTB before heading back to CYTZ
I was curious as to how it works from an ATC point of view. I was expecting to be asked to squawk Ident at some point but Terminal seemed to know who I was and where I was going as soon as I gave them my call sign, even when I was only using flight following for some portions ( I didn't use it at all between YKF and YTB for example), so it wasn't like I'd been handed over from a tower or something.
Is this because I'd filed a flight plan?
what info gets passed on to Terminal?

I'm sorry if these are stupid questions but I'm trying to get my head around how it all works, in the hope that a degree of understanding will help me not annoy people too much in the future.
Given this aim , any tips for not annoying the nice people offering this service?

[dirtysidedown]

no stupid questions.... you are learning ( i am learning) so it is always nice to know the why/how as an adult learner.

there is a forum specifically for ATC related questions on AVCANADA (dont have a direct link), try posting this question over there and you may get an answer faster.

[Rookie50]

Essentially yes. They will enter your call sign, (yyz terminal ) and your flight plan will pop up in their system somehow (not exactly sure how it's displayed -- but they see it.)

Hence -- being on a flight plan they will assume you wish FF.

Without a flight plan, as I usually fly for short vfr flights in the yyz area, you need to ask for FF after identifying yourself. I just call them up, tell them where I am and wish to go, and requested altitude.

No dumb questions in aviation. I still ask lots and lots at 600 TT.

[Ceòl Beag]

Nav Canada has their own computer system, and most of the interface is all touchscreen now. The squawk code they give you is automatically generated by computer. From the time that you're given the code, you're active in the system. Ground literally swipes you over to Tower, Tower to Terminal, etc...
You, or your instructor, could ask for a tour of the tower sometime, they are usually pretty nice and happy to explain things.

[omgwereallgoingtodie]

Ok , so next stupid question.
Is there a good/better time to ask for a tower tour. Towards the start of my training when the winds weren't going to allow for circuits my instructor tried to arrange a tour and was told "no"
I have the phone number for CYTZ tower from the CFS but is that an emergency sort of number?, is there a better one to call?
Don't want to be the muppet that makes the crash phone ring when all they want is the guided tour!

[KnownIce]

You'll find some differences in what controllers will ask of you depending I'm sure on a lot of things, the controller, the amount of nearby traffic and airspace etc. Ultimately if you can identify who you are, where you are, and what you want, things will work out. You'll also find that flight following gets easier as you get more used to radio phraseology, and not to mention in "real-life" your flights will be longer, so that upfront work of getting flight following setup will be rewarded with longer benefit before handover to a local frequency.

It would be a good idea early in your training to talk to your instructor about ATC expectations and responses on the radio when VFR on flight following, to learn the right habits from the start. There are also endless threads on this matter already in the archive if you'd like to read first before talking to him/her.

[Driving Comet]

Ok , so next stupid question.
Is there a good/better time to ask for a tower tour. Towards the start of my training when the winds weren't going to allow for circuits my instructor tried to arrange a tour and was told "no"
I have the phone number for CYTZ tower from the CFS but is that an emergency sort of number?, is there a better one to call?
Don't want to be the muppet that makes the crash phone ring when all they want is the guided tour!

Ask your instructor to set it up. If we say no, ask another time. I personally like giving tours of the tower, it allows for direct dialogue of likes and dislikes. Just ask photofly about all the complaining I do every time I see him