PLT OF SMT UNABLE TO COM ATFCM WITH CENTER. MADE CONTACT WITH APCH CTLR FOR CLRNC TO STP.

Narrative

IN AND OUT OF SMALL CUMULUS BUILDUPS AT 9000; AFTER SFD ENRTE TO RWF VOR MINNEAPOLIS CTR ASKED IF 'DIRECT STP' WAS ACCEPTABLE. THEY NOTED FLT PLAN CALLED FOR 'RWF/GEP DIRECT STP.' WE WOULD ACCEPT WHATEVER WAS CONVENIENT. CLRNC WAS RECIEVED; 'DIRECT STP; MAINTAIN 9.' AFTER CHKING CHARTS TO BE CERTAIN CLRNC WAS TO SAINT PAUL ARPT AND NOT A 'VOR'; CTR CONFIRMED; 'DIRECT TO SAINT PAUL; HOLMAN FIELD...' AT ABOUT 60 NM OUT CONSIDERING ASKING FOR LOWER; CTR CLRED DOWN TO 4000. AFTER DSNDING TO 4000 WE WERE APCHING THE CITY ONLY MINS AWAY. I OBSERVED A LARGE ARPT AT 12 O'CLOCK; CHKED THE CHARTS AND PRESUMED FLYING CLOUD ARPT COMING UP...I HAD PICKED UP ATIS; VISUAL; LNDG 23... EASY! A HDOF TO APCH SEEMED IMMINENT. BEING NEARLY ON TOP OF THE 'ARPT' AND HAVING EXPECTED A HDOF TO APCH; I CALLED CTR TWICE; ELICITING NO RESPONSE... EACH TIME WAITING AT LEAST 15-30 SECONDS. WITH NO RADIO CHATTER. AT THIS POINT STP WAS; AT MAX; 15 MINS OUT AND THE PLANE WAS SLOWING TO VECTORING SPD; APPROX 150 SLOWING TO 120 KT. DOUBLE CHKED THE CHART; WENT THROUGH A QUICK SCENARIO OF WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO IF RADIO FAILURE... PROCEED DIRECT STP; ENTER THE PATTERN; DSND TO 2000 AND WATCH FOR GREEN LIGHTS...TIME TO CALL SOMEONE ELSE! I IMMEDIATELY CALLED MINNEAPOLIS APCH CTL; 121.1; FROM THE PLATE AND ADVISED; 'LEVEL 4000; PROCEEDING DIRECT STP'. THE CTLR GAVE ME AN OBLIQUE HDG TO COURSE AND CAME BACK SHORTLY WITH CLRNC TO DIRECT MINNEAPOLIS ARPT; AT WHICH POINT I ADVISED NOT IN SIGHT. THEY ASKED PRESENT POS; I ADVISED I HAD JUST CROSSED A LARGE ARPT DIRECTLY BEHIND; WAS LOOKING FOR MINNEAPOLIS ARPT; 'STANDBY'; NOT SEEING IT IMMEDIATELY; I ADVISED NEGATIVE ON THE ARPT. APCH THEN GAVE HDG OF 050 AND COMMENTED; 'I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GUYS DO IT...' THEN CONFIRMED I HAD PASSED FLYING CLOUD AS THOUGHT FROM THE PLATES; LOOKED FOR MINNEAPOLIS AND SAW IT ABOUT 5 MI AWAY. CLRNC WAS GIVEN TO FLY DIRECT; OVERFLY RWY 4; THEN 020. FURTHER CLRNC GIVEN TO CONTACT STP TWR AND TO PROCEED TO ABOUT 1 MI SW OF STP UNLESS STP TWR CHANGES... AND WAS ASKED; 'WHEN I LOST CONTACT.' I ADVISED I WAS TALKING. ALL OF THIS TIME; ORIGINAL SQUAWK CODE HAD NOT CHANGED...APCH WAS ADVISED IT APPEARED I JUST DID NOT GET THE EXPECTED HDOF... THEN WAS TOLD 'I SHOULD LISTEN UP AND CHK IN ONCE IN AWHILE'... AND RELEASED TO STP. FLT AND LNDG TO STP WAS NORMAL. IN SUMMARY; I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS AN ANTENNA/RADIO PROBLEM ON MY ACFT OR WHAT. I CHKED ON THE ENSUING FLTS UPON MY RETURN TO SAINT PAUL; TUESDAY; THROUGH THURSDAY AND EXPERIENCED NO PROBLEMS. PERHAPS...SOMEONE FORGOT ME; MAYBE I JUMPED FREQ TOO SOON; MAYBE IT IS A QUIRK IN THE EQUIP...; BUT I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS PRUDENT AND SAFE BEING IN THE VICINITY OF PROBABLE TFC; KNOWING ABSOLUTELY ARPT(S) WERE IMMEDIATELY AHEAD VISUALLY AND TIME WISE; ... AND COMPLIED WITH ALL REQUESTS/ADVISORIES EXACTLY; BUT APPARENTLY NOT TO APCH CTLS SATISFACTION AS THE CTLR DID SEEM UPSET AND CONDESCENDING. AT NO TIME WAS SAFETY COMPROMISED ON MY PART OR THE CTLRS; IT DID SEEM THE CTLR WAS FRUSTRATED WITH ME; BUT IF A RADIO PROBLEM DID EXIST; IT SEEMS CTR AND APCH WOULD HAVE COMMUNICATED (SQUAWK CODE) OR I WOULD HAVE RECEIVED A REPLY. USING BOTH RADIOS ON IN TO STP; NO PROBLEM WAS DETECTED... THE ONLY AND BIGGEST CONSEQUENCE WAS MY FRETTING AND LOSING SLEEP OVER WHAT SHOULD/COULD HAVE BEEN NOTHING; NOT KNOWING IF I DROPPED OFF OF CTR PRECIPITOUSLY; OR IF IT WAS JUST A FLUKE.