Picking up a Clearance Airborne

"Michael" wrote:
My experience has been that getting a clearance in the air in the
Houston area is bad - but getting it on the ground by cellphone is
worse. Too many delays and 'accidental' disconnects.

Yep.

I never get disconnected a second time when trying to get a
clearance
by phone, because on the call back I always make it a point to
mention
that someone hung up on me before. I figure the guy knows that if
it
gets to his supervisor, well, once is an accident but twice is a
pattern.

I always make it a point to make my callup in a way that includes
IFR,
as in: "N123 off Weiser, climbing through 1400, (looking for) IFR to
Somewhere." Of course the 'looking for' part is mumbled, and now
the
controller has to look for my strip no matter what; not answering me
is really not an option because he's not really sure if I'm already
IFR or not. I know these guys often don't even bother answering the
guys who call for VFR flight following.

It's pretty sad that I have to do it this way, but I don't have much
choice.

Yes, there is no excuse for this.

When the weather is good enough for me to cover 20-30 miles VFR, I
don't even bother talking to approach. I simply wait until I'm out
of
their airspace, and then call Houston Center. Much better service
all
around.

I usually pick up my clearance over Beaumont on the way out, if at all
possible.

It's hard to believe that all this crap is not deliberate, if
unofficial, policy at the Houston TRACON.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM