PA32 PLT AND FLT INSTRUCTOR HAVE AN ALTDEV DURING PRACTICE APCH TO LVK.

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ON AN IFR TRAINING FLT; MY FLT INSTRUCTOR AND I WERE MAKING MULTIPLE APCHS INTO LVK FOR ILS RWY 25R. ON THE SECOND SUCH APCH; WE WERE CLRED FOR THE OPTION BY LVK TWR; WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE A R DOWNWIND (VFR) DEP. ON OUR DOWNWIND DEP; IN VMC; WE WERE IN A VFR CLB (PERHAPS OUT OF APPROX 3000 FT FOR 4000 FT MSL) WHEN THE TWR INSTRUCTED US TO RECONTACT ATC. ATC TOLD US TO PROCEED DIRECT RIEGA NDB AND FLY THE PUBLISHED MISSED APCH. SO; WE PROCEEDED DIRECTLY TOWARDS RIEGA IN VMC. ATC AGAIN CALLED US WHEN WE WERE APCHING RIEGA AND QUERIED US ABOUT OUR ALT AND INTENTIONS. (I THINK) ATC HAD APPARENTLY EXPECTED US TO MAINTAIN 3300 FT MSL (THE ALT FOR THE PUBLISHED MISS) WHEREAS MY INSTRUCTOR AND I HAD THOUGHT OUR CLB HAD BEEN A VFR CLB AND THAT WE WOULD BE GIVEN A CLRNC. IN ANY EVENT; WE IMMEDIATELY DSNDED TO 3300 FT; FLEW THE MISSED FROM RIEGA; AND THEN (VIA PLT NAV) FLEW THE PUBLISHED APCH WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THIS EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTED SOME IMPORTANT POTENTIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH DOING MULTIPLE PRACTICE APCHS -- AND SPECIFICALLY DURING THE DEP/MISSED PHASE OF FLT. IT TAUGHT ME TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLR AND CERTAIN AS TO WHETHER I AM VFR OR IFR (AND ABSOLUTELY CLR OF WHAT ATC AND TWR UNDERSTANDS AND WHAT I HAVE COMMUNICATED) AND TO QUERY ATC AND ASSURE THAT THERE IS FULL AGREEMENT WITHOUT RESERVATION.