PVT PILOT ON A VFR FLT CONTINUES CLIMB OVER TOP OF UNDERCAST UNTIL THE ONLY OPTION IS TO DESCEND THROUGH IMC TO SAFELY CONCLUDE THE FLT.

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I AM A VFR-RATED PVT PLT. ON A VFR FLT I MADE THE DECISION TO CLB OVER A BROKEN CLOUD LAYER. MY EXPECTATION; BASED ON FORECAST WX; WAS THAT THE LAYER WOULD REMAIN BROKEN; AND THAT IT WOULD BE SCATTERED AT MY ARR AT DEST. AS WE TRAVELED N; THE CLOUD TOPS CONTINUOUSLY ROSE. IN ADDITION; THE CLOUD LAYER BECAME A CONTINUOUS UNDERCAST. I CONTINUED CLBING ABOVE THE CLOUDS UNTIL THE CLOUD TOPS REACHED ABOVE 10000 FT MSL. I REALIZED I COULD NO LONGER SEE THE HORIZON. I IMMEDIATELY STARTED FLYING BY REF TO INSTS. I WAS RECEIVING VFR ADVISORIES FROM ZDC AND INFORMED THE CTLR THAT I WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO MAINTAIN VFR AND REQUESTED AN INST CLRNC TO DSND THROUGH THE CLOUDS. THE CTLR GRANTED MY REQUEST AND WAS VERY HELPFUL TO ME UNTIL I WAS IN VFR CONDITIONS. I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL DECISION POINTS THAT LED TO THIS SITUATION. THERE WERE NUMEROUS TIMES I COULD HAVE LET DOWN THROUGH THE CLOUD DECK IN VFR CONDITIONS BEFORE IT BECAME SOLID UNDERCAST. THIS WAS ALSO A SITUATION WHERE AN INST RATING WOULD HAVE MADE THIS A NON EVENT. ONCE I RECOGNIZED THE SITUATION; I EMPLOYED THE TECHNIQUES I LEARNED IN MY LIMITED INST TRAINING TO MAINTAIN ACFT CTL UNTIL I COULD RESUME VFR FLT. I ALSO UTILIZED THE RESOURCES AT MY DISPOSAL TO ASSIST ME. IN THE FUTURE; I WILL BE MUCH MORE RELUCTANT TO CLB ABOVE A CLOUD LAYER!