PA-28R pilot reported entering instrument conditions prior to requesting a previously filed instrume...

Attributes
ACN	1408997
Time
Date	201612
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28R Cherokee Arrow All Series
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 110 Flight Crew Total 1792
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural FAR Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

I flew in IMC conditions near ZZZ; I was VFR at the time. I realized that I could not maintain VFR; so I requested a pop-up IFR clearance. I did tell the controller I was in IFR conditions. He asked if I could maintain obstacle clearance. I quickly replied 'no.' so the controller gave me a heading and altitude to fly (130 climb and maintain 6000). At the time; I did not fully understand what the controller meant by obstacle clearance my aircraft doesn't not have obstacle warning system installed in the garmin 430. I realize the mistake now. It's worth noting I did have the enroute chart as well as the approach charts for the area and the airport. I also did file an IFR flight before departing. I am IFR current. I did make a mistake tonight and flew into weather I should not have. I appreciate the controllers who helped me out throughout the flight. I apologize for any inconvenience I placed on the controllers. I will never do this again.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28R pilot reported entering instrument conditions prior to requesting a previously filed instrument flight plan.

Narrative: I flew in IMC conditions near ZZZ; I was VFR at the time. I realized that I could not maintain VFR; so I requested a pop-up IFR clearance. I did tell the controller I was in IFR conditions. He asked if I could maintain obstacle clearance. I quickly replied 'no.' So the controller gave me a heading and altitude to fly (130 climb and maintain 6000). At the time; I did not fully understand what the controller meant by obstacle clearance my aircraft doesn't not have obstacle warning system installed in the Garmin 430. I realize the mistake now. It's worth noting I did have the enroute chart as well as the approach charts for the area and the airport. I also did file an IFR flight before departing. I am IFR current. I did make a mistake tonight and flew into weather I should not have. I appreciate the controllers who helped me out throughout the flight. I apologize for any inconvenience I placed on the controllers. I will never do this again.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.