C210 PLT; REQUIRED BY FARS TO FILE VFR FLT PLAN WHEN UNABLE TO CONTINUE VFR; FILES IFR AIRBORNE AND DIVERTS TO LBL.

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THE FLT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A VFR ONLY CHARTER FROM ICT TO HQG TO ICT WITH 1 PAX. THE FLT WAS RESTR TO VFR DUE TO THE ACFT'S EQUIP; AND THE PLT'S QUALIFICATIONS (I LACKED THE 1200 HRS TOTAL TIME FOR IFR CHARTER). I CHKED THE WX FORECAST BOTH BY PHONE WITH AN FSS SPECIALIST; AND BY COMPUTER VIA DUAT. HQG DOES NOT HAVE A TAF OR METAR; SO I CHKED THE SURROUNDING AREAS INCLUDING CGK; DDC; LBL; GAG; AND DHT. THE FORECAST CALLED FOR UNRESTR VISIBILITY AND A CEILING OF 3000 FT BROKEN TO SCATTERED. THE TAF WAS ONLY 3 HRS OLD; AND THE METARS WERE CURRENT; AND CONSIDERED RIGHT BEFORE DEP INCLUDING A WX DEPICTION CHART WHICH ILLUSTRATED VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS KANSAS. THE RTE WAS VFR IMMEDIATELY BEFORE DEP. AS THE FLT PROGRESSED; I NOTICED AN E/W LINE OF PRECIP AND LOW CEILINGS JUST TO THE S OF MY COURSE. I CONTINUED RELATIVELY CONFIDENT THAT I WOULD REACH HQG UNDER VFR; ALTHOUGH I HAD TO MAKE SEVERAL RTE AND ALT CHANGES IN THE PROCESS. APPROX 20 MINS FROM MY DEST OF HQG (DDC 180 DEG RADIAL AT 30 NM) IT BECAME APPARENT THAT I COULD NO LONGER CONTINUE THE FLT IN VMC NO MATTER WHICH RTE OR ALT I CHOSE. THE CEILING WAS ABOUT 500 FT WITH UNRESTR VISIBILITY. REMAINING VFR UNDER THE LOW CEILING; IN MY OPINION; WAS UNSAFE SO I FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN WITH THE ICT FSS; AND RECEIVED A CLRNC FROM ZKC TO PROCEED TO HQG IFR. IT SOON BECAME EVIDENT THAT THE CEILING AT HQG WAS PROBABLY LOWER THAN THE ARPT'S APCH MINIMUMS; SO I ELECTED TO DIVERT TO LBL WHERE I MADE AN UNEVENTFUL ILS APCH AND LNDG. IN MY OPINION; THE PROB AROSE DUE TO THE UNFORECAST WX I ENCOUNTERED. WHEN IT WAS CLR THAT I COULD NOT COMPLETE THE FLT UNDER VFR (UNLESS I OPERATED UNDER A 500 FT CEILING); I ELECTED TO FILE AN IFR FLT PLAN; AND RECEIVE THE RESPECTIVE CLRNC IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY. A DECISION TO TERMINATE THE FLT; OR REVERSE COURSE AT THE FIRST SIGN OF THE UNFORECAST WX WOULD HAVE AVOIDED THE SIT. FACED WITH THE SIT AGAIN; I NOW HAVE ANOTHER VALUABLE TOOL FOR MY DECISION MAKING PROCESS.