AN INST RATED PVT PLT IN A C177 DEPARTED IN VFR CONDITIONS AND ENCOUNTERED IMC ENRTE. HE HAD TROUBLE RAISING JAX APCH DUE TO LOW ALT BUT FINALLY LANDED; IFR; AT OCF.

Narrative

WHILE FLYING FROM FMY TO 24J; I ENCOUNTERED A SITUATION THAT FOUND ME UNDER THE CLOUDS AT 500 FT MSL UNDER A SOLID OVCST WITH FEW OPTIONS. I DEPARTED FMY VFR WITH A WX RPT THAT INDICATED RISING CEILINGS ALL OF THE WAY TO MY DEST. I CONTACTED MIA DEP APPROX 25 MI S OF THE LAL VOR AND REQUESTED FLT FOLLOWING. IT WAS GRANTED. THROUGH NORMAL HDOFS; I WAS CLRED INTO TPA CLASS B AIRSPACE AND GRANTED ALTDEVS IN ORDER TO AVOID CLOUDS. OVER ZEPHYRHILLS ARPT; THE SKY CLRED AND I REQUESTED AN INCREASE IN ALT IN ORDER TO GET ON TOP OF THE CLOUDS THAT WERE LOCATED TO MY N. IT WAS GRANTED. I CANCELED FLT FOLLOWING AT THAT TIME. I CONTINUED ON FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AND DETERMINED THAT I WOULD BE UNABLE TO STAY CLR OF CLOUDS DUE TO ALT AND REVERSED COURSE. I LOCATED CLR SKIES AND BEGAN A DSCNT IN ORDER TO GET UNDER THE CLOUD COVER. I RESUMED COURSE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. I FOUND THAT THE CLOUDS WERE FORCING ME LOWER THAN I WAS COMFORTABLE WITH (APPROX 1500 FT MSL) AND REVERSED COURSE ONCE AGAIN ONLY TO FIND WX TO MY S (RAIN). I ATTEMPTED NUMEROUS TIMES TO CONTACT TPA APCH WITH NO SUCCESS. I DID FINALLY RAISE JAX APCH; BUT WAS TOO LOW FOR THEM TO LOCATE MY XPONDER. THE SITUATION WAS EXTREMELY TENSE AND I WAS REQUESTING AN INCREASE IN ALT INTO IMC. JAX WAS UNABLE TO GRANT MY REQUEST DUE TO THE INABILITY OF LOCATING MY XPONDER. I BEGAN FLYING N TOWARDS OCALA (I WAS AWARE OF THE APCHS THERE) AND MY XPONDER WAS LOCATED BY JAX. I WAS INSTRUCTED TO CLB TO 4000 FT AND RECEIVE VECTORS FOR THE GPS 36 INTO OCALA. I REQUESTED DIRECT TO LCQ AT THAT TIME. AFTER NOT RECEIVING A RESPONSE (HE WAS BUSY WITH OTHER ACFT); I CHANGED MY REQUEST BACK TO OCALA. BY THAT POINT; I HAD MISSED MY APCH TO GPS 36 IN OCALA AND WAS REDIRECTED BACK TO THE APCH. I BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS AT 1500 FT MSL AND CANCELED MY IFR CLRNC. I LANDED UNEVENTFULLY. I HAVE REPLAYED THE SCENARIO NUMEROUS TIMES AND HAVE COME TO THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS: 1) I SHOULD HAVE FILED IFR WHILE IN FT MYERS REGARDLESS OF THE RPT OF RISING CEILINGS. THIS WOULD HAVE ASSURED AN UNEVENTFUL FLT AND ADEQUATE PREPARATION (APCH REVIEW; ETC) IN THE EVENT OF AN ACTUAL APCH. 2) I BECAME RATTLED AT THE MOST INOPPORTUNE MOMENT. THIS IS INDICATIVE OF A NEED FOR MORE TRAINING. THE TRAINING IS SOMETHING I WILL PURSUE AT THE EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY. 3) I SHOULD HAVE FILED WHILE AIRBORNE AND N OF TPA AS OPPOSED TO ATTEMPTING TO GET UNDER THE OVCST. WHILE NOT AS ADVANTAGEOUS AS FILING IN FT MYERS IT WOULD HAVE ALLOWED MORE PREPARATION TIME THAN I RECEIVED. 4) MORE DECISIVENESS WAS NECESSARY. I FOUND THAT I WAS MORE CONCERNED WITH THE PROB THAN THE RESOLUTION. I SHOULD HAVE ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT ATC MORE QUICKLY. I THINK; IN THIS INSTANCE; IT WOULD HAVE MADE NO DIFFERENCE DUE TO THEIR INABILITY TO LOCATE MY XPONDER. HOWEVER; OTHER SITUATIONS WOULD BENEFIT FROM THEIR ASSISTANCE.