EXPECTING A VOR APCH A DSCNT IS BEGUN WITHOUT CLRNC WHEN A VECTOR IS GIVEN THAT APPEARED TO BE BYPASSING THE IAF.

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WE WERE ON AN INST FLT PLAN APCHING DELAND; FL; FOR LNDG. WX WAS VMC ABOVE A SCATTERED/BROKEN LAYER WITH GOOD VISIBILITY BENEATH. ALTHOUGH GOOD ENOUGH FOR A VISUAL ARR; WE ELECTED TO DO AN INST APCH DUE TO RAIN SHOWERS IN THE AREA. WE WERE TOLD TO EXPECT THE VOR RWY 23 AND WERE CLRED DIRECT TO OMN VOR; THE IAF. APCHING THE VOR WE WERE SURPRISED TO BE GIVEN A VECTOR; WHICH WOULD HAVE PLACED US INSIDE THE VOR ON THE FINAL APCH COURSE. WE HAD TO RE-LOOK AT THE APCH TO DETERMINE WHEN WE WOULD BE LEGAL TO DSND OUT OF 4000 FT; THE VOR MINIMUM XING ALT. MOMENTS LATER; WE GOT A FREQ CHANGE TO A NEW APCH CTLR; WHO IMMEDIATELY CLRED US BACK TO THE OMN VOR. WE AGAIN HAD TO DISCUSS THE DSCNT PROFILE. BY THIS TIME WE WERE PASSING OVER THE VOR; SO WE SET THE ALT ALERTER FOR THE NEXT SEGMENT ALT OF 1600 FT AND THE AUTOPLT BEGAN A SLOW DSCNT. THE CTLR MUST HAVE NOTICED US DSNDING; AS HE STATED WE WERE NOT YET CLRED FOR THE APCH. WE CLBED BACK TO 4000 FT; AND WERE IMMEDIATELY CLRED FOR THE APCH; WHICH WAS COMPLETED UNEVENTFULLY. THIS WAS A WELL RESTED; WELL TRAINED; EXPERIENCED CREW. THE PROB WAS RAPIDLY CHANGING CLRNCS; A CHANGE TO A NEW CTLR FREQ JUST OUTSIDE THE IAF; AND A CREW RUSHED TO CHANGE THEIR PRE-BRIEFED PLAN. ALTHOUGH WE WERE JUST TOLD TO EXPECT THE APCH; IN THE CONFUSION WE BOTH PROCEEDED AS IF WE HAD BEEN CLRED; AND UPON PASSING THE VOR FELT WE HAD TO START DOWN IMMEDIATELY. IT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY ELIMINATING MULTIPLE ATC CLRNC REVISIONS WHILE CLOSE TO THE IAF; AND BY MORE ATTENTIVENESS ON THE PART OF THE CREW.