Did I screw up?

[groundpointsix]

Here's my situation:
Yesterday I filed for an IFR flight into Cleveland Burke from my home airport. Good VFR conditions prevailed, but I decided to file simply because I was going into a class B area which I was unfamiliar with. When I called approach control at my home field to pick up my clearance (we get our clearances through an RCO) I was told that my clearance hadn't shown up on his computer and to give him a call back in 3 minutes when the strip should show up. (I was a few minutes ahead of my filed time, though I haven't had that happen before) When I call him back he says he still doesn't have my strip and asks me for some more information so he can call flight service for me. (Huntington approach always goes out of their way to help pilots out, certainly more so than a lot of other facilities) He comes back on and tells me that flight service doesn't have my flight plan either, but that he can give me a flight plan direct to an NDB near our field, then direct to Cleveland. I accepted the clearance, fully expecting that I'd be given a full route clearance from center once I checked in with them. (They did give me a full route clearance) Here's my question: Did I screw up by accepting the direct routing clearance since I only had a VFR GPS onboard, or was it understood that since i was /U that I would have to be given vectors or a full route clearance once airborn? Is this something I should file a NASA report for? I admit I should have questioned the clearance when he gave it to me, but at the time it didn't occur to me.

Thanks All

 

[avbug]

You were given the clearance based on the information you provided. If you can't meet the clearance criteria, then don't accept it.

In this case, there appears to be no problem. Could you make the flight direct without the use of your GPS? Probably. If nothing else, you could get radar vectors. I've flown coast to coast IFR before with little more than a handheld GPS, a quirky LoRan, and a VOR navhead. I did it direct. It was one big radar vector, as far as ATC was concerned.

I don't see any reason that you will need to file an ASRS report, unless you feel the overwhelming urge to do so. It probably won't hurt, but it should never be an issue for you. The FAA doesn't have the time, nor the inclination to sift through old flight strips and see who might have received a direct clearance when they didn't have the equipment for it...or weather the flight was long enough to require a means of navigation other than what you have...or weather you were inside the service volume of navaids along your route.

From a strictly legal point of view, could you fix your position continuously as you were flying from the NDB to your destination? Most likely you could. Cross radials, distances, etc. Weather you do direct to one distant waypoint, or use a thousand waypoints along a direct line to get there, it amounts to the same thing. So long as you could reliably fix your position and navigate in accordance with your clearance, don't worry about it.

In the event you don't feel comfortable with the clearance for safety or legal reasons, always ask for an ammended clearance or clarification. You can also ask for a vector, and advise that you're VFR GPS only, or simply advise that you're slant uniform.

This is one of those cases in which nothing will ever happen, unless you do something to attract attention. Such as have an accident, or toss out pumpkins over a school yard. Having said that, I have recently been in contact with someone who was involved in a comparable scenario. In that individual's case, he had an accident. He didn't do anything particularly unusual, and ended up in a situation that would have ammounted to nothing, had it not been for the forced landing that drew attention to him.

You're in the same boat. There are a lot of things you can do inthe airplane that will go unnoticed until events combine to make you the center of attention. Then every single detail comes back to haunt you. In this case, I don't think I'd worry or lose a moments sleep over it.

As for the losing of flight plans...happens all the time. One more good reason to pick up your clearance as early as possible, when you can. At an uncontrolled field, usually you're left to get it just prior to departure along with a clearance void time, but otherwise, try to get it as early as practicable in case there is any programming, changes, looking up, or whatever to be done.

 

[BeachBum]

You didn't screw up. Just because you were given a direct clearance doesn't mean you have to fly direct via ifr gps. You can fly direct by dead reckoning or pilotage if you want. You could have used the vfr gps to give you and "idea" of what heading to fly and then flown that heading on the DG the whole way. It's all completely legal. And of course, you are always radar vector equipped.

 

[jaybird]

I usually fly INAV.

I
Need
A
Vector

 

[CitationLover]

AIM chapter 1 has a chart that shows what you can use a VFR GPS for under IFR. It's basically "situational awareness" which I would say fits under a direct clearance.

I always supplement the gps by dialing in two vors and cross checking where i am every 10min or so, batteries in a gps seem to die quick.

 

[midlifeflyer]

AIM chapter 1 has a chart that shows what you can use a VFR GPS for under IFR. It's basically "situational awareness" which I would say fits under a direct clearance.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

Here's why. Assume it's an airport. Can you navigate yourself (no vectors) from your present position directly (straight line navigation) to the airport without the GPS?

If the answer is yes, you're using the VFR GPS "properly" as situational awareness backup. If the answer is no, you're using it for primary navigation and it has to be IFR certified.

Since these issues usually come up when something has happened and a certificate is on the line, I'm not sure I'd like to be explaining my heading deviation and the resulting loss of separation with "But sir, I was navigating by dead reckoning and only using the GPS as a backup"

 

[tarp]

G.6 -

Don't sweat it. As an irreverant reader of IFR magazine (highly recommended), many an article has been written about being given and receiving "gifts" from ATC.

You do need to take a nano-second for a reality check, but for the most part "vectors" are pretty reasonable. I used to do a lot of Maryland to Florida runs and got pretty familiar with the Jax controllers.

Jax: "12-Alpha, can you go direct Ocala?"
12A: (just south of Savannah) "Not at this time"
Jax: "OK, 12-Alpha, fly heading 200 vectors for Ocala"

Coming back home one night, just north of Daytona and listing Charleston for a fuel stop, I get same question - can I go direct CHS? Negative. "Fly heading 040, vectors for CHS". My reply - "ah Jax, how 'bout something that keeps me closer to shore". He caught on right away. "Ok, this'll be a dogleg for CHS, fly heading 010".

Another gotcha is intersections in a /A machine. You've taken vectors all day, but its IFR at your destination and you hear:

"12-Alpha, fly direct LIBBY, join the localizer" (LIBBY being a point on the localizer). Tough to do that DR stuff and get it just right when you are in the soup keeping all the other balls in the air. Better to turn this one down and just get "vectors" to join.

But for the most part, the controllers are not trying to get you in trouble, they are just trying to get you to your destination as quickly as possible. "Direct-direct clearances" - fine. "Vectors" - fine. And the one's you hear all the time now - I call them the open invitation "Ah, 12-Alpha, I see you slant Alpha, do have any means to fly direct XYZ (something hundreds of miles away)". And the answer to this is NOT "Why yes sir I have a VFR GPS". The answer is: "Affirmative, it looks like a 038 heading will get me there." Guess what the controller's next statement is? "Very good, fly heading 038, direct XYZ when able".

 

[KickSave]

So wait, does this mean I should stop tossing pumpkins out the window onto the schoolyards around town? What am I going to do with all these pumpkins then?

 

[cessna_driver2]

there is always the pumpkin chucking contest in PA ever fall.
You think it's legal to chuck it from an airplane rather than by a cannon.

 

[Flying Illini]

cessna_driver2,
I believe you are talking about Punkin Chunkin! I watched the special on Discovery channel about it...freakin amazing what those people do and how far a pumpkin will travel. They even grow their own secret pumpkin stashes for that contest.