BE36 ENROUTE TO F70 IS IMPROPERLY CLEARED DIRECT TIQMU; CLEARED FOR THE GPS 18 APCH. FLIES UNCHARTED COURSE REVERSAL TO ALIGN WITH FINAL APCH COURSE.

Narrative

I WAS THE SAFETY PLT ON AN IFR TRAINING FLT. WE WERE ON AN IFR TWR ENRTE IFR CLRNC. WE RECEIVED RADAR VECTORS AND THE PROB OCCURRED WHEN WE WERE ABOUT 3 MI W OF F70. THE MARCH APCH CTLR ASKED US HOW WE WANTED TO FLY THE GPS RWY 18 APCH AND WE ASKED FOR RADAR VECTORS TO THE FINAL APCH COURSE. HE THEN LATER CAME BACK AND SAID; 'CLRED DIRECT TIQMU INTXN; CLRED FOR THE GPS APCH.' HMM; I THOUGHT; WE WOULD HAVE TO REVERSE COURSE ONCE WE REACHED THE INTXN AND THERE IS NO PUBLISHED REVERSAL! I ALREADY HAD THE GPS APCH ACTIVATED WITH THE VECTORS TO FINAL OPTION ON MY GARMIN 530 SO I TRIED TO REPROGRAM IT TO FLY THE GPS APCH WITH TIQMU AS THE IAF; BUT TIQMU WAS NOT AN OPTION FOR THIS APCH IN THE GPS. IN RETROSPECT; TIQMU IS NOT AN INITIAL APCH FIX. SO THERE WE WERE; TURNING NORTH IN THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF TIQMU AND I HAD TO GET OUT OF THE APCH MODE IN THE GPS AND REPROGRAM IT TO FLY DIRECT TO TIQMU. WHEN WE REACHED TIQMU; WE JUST CREATED OUR OWN COURSE REVERSAL (TEARDROP TO THE R) AND TURNED BACK TO THE S. I REPROGRAMMED THE APCH BACK INTO THE GPS AND WE FLEW UNEVENTFULLY TO THE FAF WHERE WE CANCELED IFR. IT'S INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT AN IFR FLT BEHIND US ON THE GPS APCH TO F70 WAS ALSO CONFUSED ABOUT THE COURSE REVERSAL AT TIQMU AND THE CTLR TOLD HIM TO FLY THE PUBLISHED REVERSAL! BOTH AIRPLANES KNEW IT WASN'T PUBLISHED! CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: REPORTER ADVISED HE WAS ASSIGNED 4700 MSL; AN APPROPRIATE ALT FOR COMMENCING THE APCH FROM EITHER TIQMU OR THE TRANSITION FROM JESEX; BUT NOT FOR A FEEDER ROUTE FROM NIKKL. HE DID NOT ASK FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE APCH CTLR'S EXPECTATIONS BUT DID HEAR THE SECOND ACFT ASK RE THE COURSE REVERSAL. THE CTLR'S ASSERTION THAT THERE WAS; IN FACT; ONE PUBLISHED.