Unclear Clearance

On 11/16/2005 10:57 AM, three-eight-hotel wrote the following:
Have you considered making a phone call to the controlling facility and
getting there feedback on this clearance and any expectations they
might have had?


Actually, it wasn't that big a deal. I just thought I'd
throw a little meat to the wolves. I was and am tired of
all the bickering under "IFR with a VFR GPS." :-) So ...
something new.

I'm a relatively new IFR pilot and don't get as much practice as I
would like. It's a frustrating feeling, to have been given a
clearance, and try decipher all that you can and cannot do because the
clearance was a little vague. You definitely did the right thing,
asking for clarification.

The part I'm a little unclear on is: "Center, that 4000 was pilot's
discretion, right?" ...... "Right."

How is that different from a cruise clearance? Is it because you are
cleared to decend to 4000 at your discretion, but once you leave the
altitude you can't go back, unless cleared to climb again?

Yes, I think so. But as a practical matter she was about to
lose me both on radar and on comm, so I think she was
effectively giving me the airspace below 7 until she
received my cancellation. I'm sure she didn't have any IFR
aircraft anywhere near me and didn't have any departures
coming out of KCKC.

These groups are great for getting clarification on things we encounter
in the air, but they aren't of much use when you are at 7000 feet and
concerned about picking up a little ice... ;-)

I was in the clear and the deck was thin. No real concern,
but that's why I asked for clarification.