King air pilot reported a track deviation resulted when he turned to avoid possible wake turbulence ...

Attributes
ACN	1767946
Time
Date	202010
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	CVG.Airport
State Reference	KY
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Super King Air 200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	Vectors SID Bluegrass 4
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 18 Flight Crew Total 680 Flight Crew Type 420
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

Narrative:

My pre-departure clearance was the bluegrass 4 SID; lexington transition. I received a 'line up and wait' instruction; shortly followed by a takeoff instruction for runway 27. My concern was that these instructions were given very soon after the departure of a boeing 737; and I was worried about wake turbulence; especially in light of the young passengers in the cabin. After liftoff; I initiated an expedited climb; followed by a turn to the southwest in an attempt to sidestep the flight path of the boeing ahead of me. Covington tower handed me off to cincinnati approach; who then cleared me to the kenlan intersection; which was the next waypoint on the departure. After receiving that clearance; the departure controller queried us as to the turn that we made on departure; and I explained that we were attempting to avoid wake turbulence. I heard no further word on the matter.looking back; I never should have accepted the takeoff clearance that quickly after the departure of the boeing. I'm sure that the controller was following procedure; but I was not comfortable with the situation. I should have either rejected the takeoff clearance; or asked for an immediate turn to the southwest in order to avoid the 737's flight path.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: King Air pilot reported a track deviation resulted when he turned to avoid possible wake turbulence from the previous departure; a B737.

Narrative: My pre-departure clearance was the Bluegrass 4 SID; Lexington transition. I received a 'line up and wait' instruction; shortly followed by a takeoff instruction for runway 27. My concern was that these instructions were given very soon after the departure of a Boeing 737; and I was worried about wake turbulence; especially in light of the young passengers in the cabin. After liftoff; I initiated an expedited climb; followed by a turn to the southwest in an attempt to sidestep the flight path of the Boeing ahead of me. Covington tower handed me off to Cincinnati Approach; who then cleared me to the Kenlan intersection; which was the next waypoint on the departure. After receiving that clearance; the Departure Controller queried us as to the turn that we made on departure; and I explained that we were attempting to avoid wake turbulence. I heard no further word on the matter.Looking back; I never should have accepted the takeoff clearance that quickly after the departure of the Boeing. I'm sure that the Controller was following procedure; but I was not comfortable with the situation. I should have either rejected the takeoff clearance; or asked for an immediate turn to the southwest in order to avoid the 737's flight path.

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.

King air pilot reported a track deviation resulted when he turned to avoid possible wake turbulence from the previous departure; a B737.