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PA32 pilot on a VFR flight obtained ATC permission to climb into class a airspace to avoid cloud tops and icing conditions.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1050799 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201211 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-32 Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga/6X |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 67.6 Flight Crew Total 302.4 Flight Crew Type 255.1 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural FAR Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
Upon departure I requested VFR flight following. I got up to a cruising altitude of 15;500 ft. After a short time I realized that to get above the clouds ahead I would need to go higher and informed ATC. At 17;500 ft when the cloud tops were higher still; I made a 90 degree turn to consider a return to an airport behind me; however it appeared that the clouds had filled in the space. There were icing conditions and I wanted to avoid gathering ice and could clearly see the blue sky ahead. I maintained VFR and requested a temporary higher altitude and permission to enter class a airspace from ATC; first for FL195 then FL215 and FL225 and was able to maintain visual above the cloud layer. I remained in class a airspace for about 15 minutes and then the tops began to drop. Then the clouds became broken and I notified ATC of my intention to descend and began my descent to the destination airport. Landed safely. I received pireps from ATC that were helpful. I am equipped with satellite and radar on the plane. I considered staying at a low altitude at the beginning of the flight; however was concerned about icing and believed that the tops were lower than the class a airspace.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: PA32 pilot on a VFR flight obtained ATC permission to climb into Class A airspace to avoid cloud tops and icing conditions.
Narrative: Upon departure I requested VFR flight following. I got up to a cruising altitude of 15;500 FT. After a short time I realized that to get above the clouds ahead I would need to go higher and informed ATC. At 17;500 FT when the cloud tops were higher still; I made a 90 degree turn to consider a return to an airport behind me; however it appeared that the clouds had filled in the space. There were icing conditions and I wanted to avoid gathering ice and could clearly see the blue sky ahead. I maintained VFR and requested a temporary higher altitude and permission to enter Class A airspace from ATC; first for FL195 then FL215 and FL225 and was able to maintain visual above the cloud layer. I remained in Class A airspace for about 15 minutes and then the tops began to drop. Then the clouds became broken and I notified ATC of my intention to descend and began my descent to the destination airport. Landed safely. I received PIREPs from ATC that were helpful. I am equipped with satellite and radar on the plane. I considered staying at a low altitude at the beginning of the flight; however was concerned about icing and believed that the tops were lower than the Class A airspace.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.