CFIT WHEN A BE36 PVT PLT DSNDS PREMATURELY WHILE MAKING A GPS APCH TO RWY 34 IN INCLEMENT WX SW OF HEF; VA.

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I FEEL SAFETY WAS COMPROMISED ON THIS FLT AS A RESULT OF ATC SHORTCOMINGS AS WELL AS A FEW MISTAKES OF MY OWN. AS FAR AS I KNOW; THERE WERE NO AIRSPACE VIOLATIONS; PROX TO OTHER ACFT; OR OTHER SUCH ISSUES; ALTHOUGH TERRAIN AND OBSTACLE CLRNC WAS AN ISSUE; AS WAS THE LACK OF AN ORDERLY SETUP FOR APCH AND LNDG. THE ACFT WAS A BONANZA A36. THE FLT WAS IFR FROM WINSTON SALEM; NC; TO MANASSAS; VA (INT TO HEF). THE WX WAS WORSE THAN FORECAST; WITH IFR CONDITIONS ENRTE AT 7000 FT; AND EVEN LIGHT ICING WAS ENCOUNTERED SHORTLY PRIOR TO DSCNT INTO THE TERMINAL AREA. PRIOR TO HDOF TO APCH; I OBTAINED THE ATIS INFO WHICH I RPTED TO DULLES APCH UPON HDOF TO THEM. THE CTLR ADVISED US TO 'EXPECT THE VISUAL' AT MANASSAS. HE ASKED IF I HAD THE MANASSAS WX; AND AGAIN I TOLD HIM I HAD ATIS INFO. AS WE WERE DSNDED AND VECTORED WITHIN THE TERMINAL AREA; I ADVISED THE CTLR THAT I DIDN'T THINK THE VISUAL APCH WOULD WORK AS WE WERE IN SOLID IMC AND MODERATE RAIN. I REQUESTED THE ILS RWY 16L APCH; THE ACTIVE RWYS BEING RWY 16L&R ACCORDING TO ATIS INFO. THE CTLR ASKED IF WE COULD ACCEPT THE GPS. HE DIDN'T INDICATE WHICH RWY. I ASSUMED HE MEANT EITHER GPS RWY 16L OR GPS RWY 16R. I SAID NO; WE WANTED THE ILS. SINCE I WAS REQUESTING THE ILS; I HAD NOT ASKED HIM WHICH GPS APCH HE MEANT. INBOUND FROM THE WSW OF THE ARPT; WE RECEIVED A VECTOR TO 180 DEGS AWAY FROM THE ARPT. WE WERE PROBABLY ABOUT 7 OR 8 NM SW OF THE ARPT AT THE TIME. A TURN TO THE S SEEMED STRANGE; BUT THE CTLR SEEMED ANNOYED WITH US FOR ASKING FOR THE ILS; AND I ASSUMED THE OUT-OF-THE-WAY VECTOR WAS NECESSARY FOR HIM TO ACCOMMODATE OUR REQUEST; WHICH SEEMED TO CAUSE HIM SOME HARDSHIP. AFTER SEVERAL MORE VECTORS; INCLUDING VECTORS THROUGH RESTR AREA R6608; AND ALSO INCLUDING A 360 DEG TURN; WE WERE FINALLY POINTED BACK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. UNEXPECTEDLY; THE CTLR ANNOUNCED HE WAS TOO BUSY AND DID NOT HAVE TIME TO GIVE US THE ILS. WE WERE TOLD TO EXPECT THE GPS APCH. HE DID NOT INDICATE WHICH GPS APCH. I WONDERED WHY HE DIDN'T INDICATE WHETHER IT WAS THE GPS RWY 16R OR GPS RWY 16L. I REALIZED THERE WAS ONLY 1 GPS APCH TO THE N; HOWEVER. SO I DECIDED TO RECHK THE ATIS; WHICH HAD NOW CHANGED. CONDITIONS AT MANASSAS HAD DRASTICALLY DETERIORATED; AND SOUNDED MUCH MORE LIKE WHAT WE WERE FLYING IN. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY; THE ARPT HAD BEEN TURNED AROUND AND WAS NOW LNDG TO THE N. FROM THE TIME WE ORIGINALLY CHKED THE ATIS; THE CTLR HAD NOT INFORMED US THAT THERE WAS THE NEW ATIS; OR EVEN THAT THE ARPT WAS NOW LNDG THE OTHER DIRECTION. SO NOW I HAD TO SUDDENLY GET THE GPS CONFIGURED FOR THE APCH; WHICH I KNEW WOULD BE THE GPS 34. SETTING UP THE GPS FOR APCH IS NOT ALWAYS AN EASY TASK; ESPECIALLY SO GIVEN THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS AND THE FLT CONDITIONS; AND OUR PROX TO THE APCH COURSE. I SET UP THE GPS FOR THE GPS 34; WITH THE ENTRY TO THE APCH SELECTED AS 'VECTORS TO FINAL;' SINCE I SEEMED TO BE ON A VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE FINAL APCH COURSE. SOON THEREAFTER; HOWEVER; I WAS TOLD TO PROCEED DIRECT BARIN; CLRED FOR THE APCH. I FUMBLED THROUGH THE APCH; TRYING TO RECONFIGURE THE GPS FOR THE UNEXPECTED ENTRY; AS WELL AS TRYING TO AVIATE AND NAV. WE WERE STILL IN SOLID IMC AND RAIN. I FLEW AN UNSTABLE APCH; AND AM UNCERTAIN AS TO WHETHER I FLEW THE CORRECT DSCNT PROFILE. IN RETROSPECT; I BELIEVE I MAY HAVE DSNDED TO MDA TOO SOON. IF I DIDN'T; IT WAS ONLY BY CHANCE; AS MY POSITIONAL AWARENESS WAS INADEQUATE. I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME TRYING TO GET THE GPS TO CORRECTLY RECYCLE FOR A DIFFERENT ENTRY. I SHOULD HAVE EITHER ASKED THE CTLR FOR A VECTOR TO THE FINAL APCH COURSE; OR ABANDONED THE APCH AND SORTED THINGS OUT AT A SAFE ALT. I SHOULD NOT HAVE LET THE CTLR BRUSH ME OFF AND MAKE ME FEEL INTIMIDATED. NOR SHOULD I HAVE DSNDED WHEN I WAS NOT TRULY ESTABLISHED; NEITHER COURSE-WISE; OPERATIONALLY; OR MENTALLY. THE CTLR DIDN'T HAVE HIS ACT TOGETHER EITHER. I TOLD HIM I HAD THE ORIGINAL ATIS INFO AND HE NEVER NOTIFIED ME THAT THE SUBSEQUENT ATIS INFO WAS CURRENT. HE ALSO KNEW I HAD ASKED FOR THE ILS RWY 16. DID HEKNOW THEN THEY WERE LNDG ON RWY 34? ALSO; HE NEVER SAID WHICH GPS APCH TO EXPECT. I SHOULD HAVE ASKED; OF COURSE; BUT I DIDN'T EXPECT ANY SURPRISES AND DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER HIM SINCE 'HE WAS BUSY.' I KNOW THAT WE MUST HAVE PASSED WITHIN ABOUT 1/2 MI OF SOME TWRS; PROBABLY WITH INSUFFICIENT VERT SEPARATION. I WISH I COULD REMEMBER FOR SURE WHERE WE HAD STARTED DOWN.