QF4N PLT LEAVES ASSIGNED ALT BEFORE ENTERING MOA.

Narrative

I WAS ENRTE TO THE R-2508 COMPLEX ON A T-62A STEREO RTE FROM NAWS POINT MUGU. ZLA GAVE ME A VECTOR OF 55 DEGS THEN HANDED ME OFF TO JOSHUA CTL A FEW MI E OF BAKERSFIELD. I CHKED IN WITH JOSHUA. THEN; APCHING THE COMPLEX THEY PROVIDED ME WITH THE STANDARD MOA CLRNC THAT THEY USUALLY GIVE: 'YOU ARE CLRED TO OPERATE IN THE ISABELLA; OWENS; SALINE AND PANAMINT AT FL290 AND BELOW; CHINA LAKE ALTIMETER 29.98.' I KNEW THAT I WASN'T IN THE COMPLEX YET SO I DELAYED MY DSCNT FROM FL210 UNTIL I WAS VISUALLY ESTABLISHED OVER THE PWR PLANT A FEW MI SW OF LAKE ISABELLA; INSIDE THE COMPLEX. AT THAT POINT I BEGAN DSNDING. JOSHUA ASKED MY ALT AND I RPTED PASSING 18000 FT. THE CTLR INFORMED ME THAT I HAD DSNDED WHILE OUTSIDE OF THE COMPLEX BOUNDARIES WITHOUT CLRNC BUT WAS NOW INSIDE AND GAVE ME A NEW XPONDER CODE. I WAS MISLEAD BY THE CLRNC. WHEN I RECEIVED THE CLRNC I ASSUMED I WAS CLRED TO LEAVE MY LAST ASSIGNED ALT SINCE IT STATED OPS AT 'FL290 AND BELOW;' A VFR CLRNC. I WAS ADDITIONALLY MISLEAD SINCE THE CLRNC WAS ISSUED WHILE I WAS INSIDE THE BAKERSFIELD MOA WHICH I SUBSEQUENTLY LEARNED IS ONLY AVAILABLE UPON SPECIAL REQUEST AND WASN'T ACTIVE AT THE TIME I CHKED IN. SOME METHODS OF AVOIDING THIS CONFUSION IN THE FUTURE INCLUDE: JOSHUA COULD INCLUDE A STATEMENT IN THE CLRNC TO REMAIN AT THE LAST ATC CLRED ALT UNTIL INSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE COMPLEX. JOSHUA COULD ISSUE A SINGLE MOA CLRNC WHEN THE ACFT IS NEARER TO THE MOA BOUNDARIES COMBINING IT WITH A CHANGE OF XPONDER CODE AND CLRNC TO LEAVE THE LAST ASSIGNED ALT. PLTS COMMUNICATE WITH JOSHUA ASKING WHEN THEY ARE CLRED TO MANEUVER. PLTS PROCEED TO THE MOA VFR BELOW 18000 FT MSL AVOIDING ENTIRELY POSITIVE CTL FROM ZLA. THE IMPORTANT POINT I LEARNED FROM THIS IS THAT THE VFR CLRNC TO OPERATE IN THE MOA IS SIMILAR TO CLRNC FOR A TACAN APCH. THE PLT MAY BE CLRED FOR THE APCH; HOWEVER; HE CANNOT COMMENCE THE APCH UNTIL ARR AT THE INITIAL APCH FIX. THE SAME APPLIES TO THE CLRNC INTO THE MOA; BUT IS MISLEADING SINCE THE ACFT IS ON AN IFR CLRNC; HOWEVER; THE PLT MUST DETERMINE HIS POS WITH A VFR SCAN OF THE GND.