PIPER PA28R PVT PLT DID NOT HAVE IFR FLT PLAN RELEASE PRIOR TO TKOF FROM NON TWR ARPT; RESULTING IN NOT HAVING DEP INSTRUCTIONS WHEN CONTACTING DEP CTL.

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IT WAS LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AND NUMEROUS ACFT WERE DEPARTING THE DTS ARPT. I CONTACTED EGLIN CLRNC; RECEIVED MY IFR CLRNC AS FILED AND THE READBACK WAS CONFIRMED WITH NO FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS HEARD. WHILE WAITING FOR DEP (I WAS #4 AT THE TIME); I AGAIN CONTACTED CLRNC TO ASK IF I NEEDED TO CONTACT THEM WHEN I WAS #1 FOR DEP (A NORMAL PROC FOR MY BASE ARPT). I WAS TOLD; OR AT LEAST WHAT I HEARD WAS; TO CONTACT EGLIN ON DEP. THE CONDITIONS WERE VFR AND THERE WERE ACFT DEPARTING CONTINUOUSLY AFTER THE BUSY WKEND SO I ASSUMED I WAS TO CONTACT EGLIN APCH ONCE AIRBORNE. THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE VFR PROC FOR DTS; ACCORDING TO THE MACA PROGRAM WHICH I HAD READ BEFORE ARRIVING AT DTS. I DEPARTED DTS AND CONTACTED EGLIN CLBING THROUGH 800 FT MSL. THEY SAID MAINTAIN VFR AND THEY WOULD HAVE MY CLRNC MOMENTARILY. I INDICATED THAT I ALREADY HAD MY CLRNC AND APCH ASKED IF I HAD RECEIVED A HOLD FOR RELEASE. I INDICATED THAT I HAD NOT HEARD THIS IN MY CLRNC AND THAT I HAD QUERIED CLRNC A SECOND TIME (TO CLARIFY WHAT I WAS TO DO UPON REACHING THE #1 POS FOR TKOF). EGLIN STATED FOR ME TO REMAIN VFR; IDENT AND TURN TO A 90 DEG HDG. A MOMENT LATER; EGLIN INDICATED I WAS CLRED AS FILED AND ASSIGNED A HDG AND ALT. LATER; I WAS INSTRUCTED TO RESUME OWN NAV AND A HDOF TO ZJX. THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL. AS I LISTENED TO THE OTHER COMS ON THE EGLIN APCH FREQ; IT WAS CLR THAT OTHER DEPARTING IFR ACFT WERE IN CONTACT WITH EGLIN APCH WHILE STILL ON THE GND AT DTW (DTW HAS NO TWR OR GND CTL). IT BECAME OBVIOUS TO ME THAT I SHOULD HAVE CONTACTED EGLIN WHEN I WAS #1 AND NOT IMMEDIATELY ON DEP. THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: I WAS DEPARTING AN UNFAMILIAR ARPT; IT WAS VERY BUSY AT DEP WITH MANY ACFT DEPARTING. AT MY HOME BASE; CLRNC DELIVERY IS CONTACTED FOR THE CLRNC. FOR THE RELEASE; DEP IS CONTACTED ONCE AIRBORNE (THIS WAS PROBABLY THE LARGEST CONTRIBUTING FACTOR -- TUNNEL VISION).