General aviation pilot reported canceling IFR and requesting flight following to pwk below the ord c...

Narrative:

Flying to gyy; about 30 miles south of gyy; I cancelled IFR; received confirmation of same; and advised ATC of a change of destination to pwk. I asked for flight following below the chicago class B airspace along the shore of lake michigan; asked ATC whether to continue the previous squawk and they said yes so I did. A few minutes later; ATC attempted to 'clear' me through the gyy class D airspace at or below 2;500 feet. I replied that we would remain clear of their class D; and refused the unrequested 'clearance' as I didn't require one while operating VFR. After that; I got a stern response advising me that I was required to follow ATC instructions and was asked if I was still going to refuse to follow their order. I replied that I was VFR; but rather than argue about it I would comply and would discuss it later. A few miles later; ATC said if I wasn't going to follow their instructions I could 'squawk 1200; frequency change approved' without flight following so that's what I did. The ensuing trip to pwk was uneventful; all VFR outside of controlled airspace (excepting the 30NM transponder-squawking required ring). From the time I cancelled IFR to the time I entered the pwk class D airspace; no portion of the flight was other than VFR outside of controlled airspace. There was no ceiling and visibility was greater than 20 miles.it's not clear to me; and apparently this controller; just what pilot responsibilities are required when receiving flight following. As I understand it; while flying outside of controlled airspace; I can pick my own route so long as I remain in VFR conditions. If flight following requires a specific path or a clearance through class D (or C or B); I've never experienced that in 40 years of flying. All I wanted to receive was potential conflict information. I think this controller overstepped his authority and attempted to bully me into following his instructions with a clearance that I didn't want or need. Some clarity on this issue would be beneficial. Since when is a clearance required when operating VFR outside of class D airspace?

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: General aviation pilot reported canceling IFR and requesting flight following to PWK below the ORD Class B. ATC attempted to 'clear' the reporter through the GYY Class D which he declined. This upset the Controller and resulted in cancelation of flight following.

Narrative: Flying to GYY; about 30 miles south of GYY; I cancelled IFR; received confirmation of same; and advised ATC of a change of destination to PWK. I asked for flight following below the Chicago Class B airspace along the shore of Lake Michigan; asked ATC whether to continue the previous squawk and they said yes so I did. A few minutes later; ATC attempted to 'clear' me through the GYY Class D airspace at or below 2;500 feet. I replied that we would remain clear of their Class D; and refused the unrequested 'clearance' as I didn't require one while operating VFR. After that; I got a stern response advising me that I was required to follow ATC instructions and was asked if I was still going to refuse to follow their order. I replied that I was VFR; but rather than argue about it I would comply and would discuss it later. A few miles later; ATC said if I wasn't going to follow their instructions I could 'squawk 1200; frequency change approved' without flight following so that's what I did. The ensuing trip to PWK was uneventful; all VFR outside of controlled airspace (excepting the 30NM transponder-squawking required ring). From the time I cancelled IFR to the time I entered the PWK Class D airspace; no portion of the flight was other than VFR outside of controlled airspace. There was no ceiling and visibility was greater than 20 miles.It's not clear to me; and apparently this controller; just what pilot responsibilities are required when receiving flight following. As I understand it; while flying outside of controlled airspace; I can pick my own route so long as I remain in VFR conditions. If flight following requires a specific path or a clearance through Class D (or C or B); I've never experienced that in 40 years of flying. All I wanted to receive was potential conflict information. I think this controller overstepped his authority and attempted to bully me into following his instructions with a clearance that I didn't want or need. Some clarity on this issue would be beneficial. Since when is a clearance required when operating VFR outside of Class D airspace?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1369049
Time
Date	201606
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	GYY.Airport
State Reference	IN
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft High Wing 1 Eng Retractable Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 32 Flight Crew Total 2293 Flight Crew Type 1413
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types

General aviation pilot reported canceling IFR and requesting flight following to pwk below the ord class B. ATC attempted to 'clear' the reporter through the gyy class D which he declined. This upset the controller and resulted in cancelation of flight following.