Narrative:

We departed the airport with full fuel (4-1/2 hours usable) beneath an overcast layer of approximately 4;000 feet MSL; on a heading of 008 degrees on my GPS. I set cruise at 3;300 MSL and contacted approach to request flight following. They asked if I could climb to 5;500 MSL and I responded with 'negative until I can get above the cloud layer'. They advised that they could not pick me up on radar below 5;500 feet MSL; continue on VFR; and set transponder to VFR 1200; at present altitude of 3;300 feet MSL.north of my position; clouds were scattered allowing me to climb to 5;500 feet MSL to benefit from flight following. I contacted approach and requested flight following; and was instructed [with a] squawk. Enroute I was handed off to approach through a series of frequencies. By this time; the cloud layer had changed to complete overcast below us. I requested handoff; as I was going to need assistance in finding a hole in the clouds to transition through. I was then handed off to next controller. I advised of the need for assistance to get through the clouds and requested information on how far west could I go if necessary to find scattered clouds. The controller advised overcast with ceilings at 1;200 to 1;500 MSL and asked if I was IFR qualified and equipped; as they did not have radar capability to determine cloud coverage. My reply was 'negative' to both. At this point; I was directed to change my heading to 320 while we considered approach options. I was also asked how much fuel I had on board; to which I replied approximately 1-1/2 to two hours of usable. Momentarily; I was advised that they were turning me over to ZZZ and to tune to ZZZ approach.upon contact with ZZZ approach; I was asked what type of navigation equipment I had on board; fuel remaining; IFR experience and number of souls on board. I responded with having foreflight on my ipad and a garmin 250XL; approximately 1-1/2 hours of usable fuel; IFR experience limited to flight review sessions and two souls on board. At that point; the controller advised he was identifying us as an emergency and would talk me through the set up for descent through the clouds and the approach. He advised of possible icing conditions and recommended the application of carb heat; to which I complied. We broke through the cloud layer at approximately 2;000 feet MSL and I advised that I could see the ground but had basically zero forward visibility. The controller instructed me through additional power reductions and the use of flaps after which I had the runway in sight. Touch down; landing and roll out were uneventful.I was instructed to stay on the present frequency and follow the emergency response vehicle to the FBO for parking. I was then instructed to switch to ground control frequency and to continue following the emergency response vehicle. Upon parking at the FBO; I asked ground control if they were through with me and they responded with 'yes'. We were then met at the plane by a fireman who asked if we were all okay; to which we responded; 'yes'. He asked how high above the cloud layer I had been and I replied with 'from 1;000 to 1;500 feet'. I asked him if any report or paperwork needed to be filled out and was advised that the controller may be able to answer that question. We were then greeted by the controller who had stepped us through the process and said he was the one I had been talking to. He asked if we were okay; to which we replied 'yes'. He then offered suggestions on how to be better prepared for this type of situation and was very cordial; polite; and professional. I asked if there were any reports I needed to file and he said he was not aware of any since no incident or damage had occurred. I then contacted my CFI and shared our experience with him. He suggested I file this report and we made arrangements to initiate IFR certification.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Cessna 182 pilot reported operating VFR in IMC after being stuck above clouds with ATC assistance during the descent.

Narrative: We departed the Airport with full fuel (4-1/2 hours usable) beneath an overcast layer of approximately 4;000 feet MSL; on a heading of 008 degrees on my GPS. I set cruise at 3;300 MSL and contacted Approach to request Flight Following. They asked if I could climb to 5;500 MSL and I responded with 'negative until I can get above the cloud layer'. They advised that they could not pick me up on radar below 5;500 feet MSL; continue on VFR; and set transponder to VFR 1200; at present altitude of 3;300 feet MSL.North of my position; clouds were scattered allowing me to climb to 5;500 feet MSL to benefit from Flight Following. I contacted Approach and requested Flight Following; and was instructed [with a] squawk. Enroute I was handed off to approach through a series of frequencies. By this time; the cloud layer had changed to complete overcast below us. I requested handoff; as I was going to need assistance in finding a hole in the clouds to transition through. I was then handed off to Next Controller. I advised of the need for assistance to get through the clouds and requested information on how far west could I go if necessary to find scattered clouds. The controller advised overcast with ceilings at 1;200 to 1;500 MSL and asked if I was IFR qualified and equipped; as they did not have radar capability to determine cloud coverage. My reply was 'negative' to both. At this point; I was directed to change my heading to 320 while we considered approach options. I was also asked how much fuel I had on board; to which I replied approximately 1-1/2 to two hours of usable. Momentarily; I was advised that they were turning me over to ZZZ and to tune to ZZZ Approach.Upon contact with ZZZ Approach; I was asked what type of navigation equipment I had on board; fuel remaining; IFR experience and number of souls on board. I responded with having ForeFlight on my iPad and a Garmin 250XL; approximately 1-1/2 hours of usable fuel; IFR experience limited to flight review sessions and two souls on board. At that point; the controller advised he was identifying us as an emergency and would talk me through the set up for descent through the clouds and the approach. He advised of possible icing conditions and recommended the application of carb heat; to which I complied. We broke through the cloud layer at approximately 2;000 feet MSL and I advised that I could see the ground but had basically zero forward visibility. The controller instructed me through additional power reductions and the use of flaps after which I had the runway in sight. Touch down; landing and roll out were uneventful.I was instructed to stay on the present frequency and follow the emergency response vehicle to the FBO for parking. I was then instructed to switch to ground control frequency and to continue following the emergency response vehicle. Upon parking at the FBO; I asked ground control if they were through with me and they responded with 'yes'. We were then met at the plane by a fireman who asked if we were all Okay; to which we responded; 'yes'. He asked how high above the cloud layer I had been and I replied with 'from 1;000 to 1;500 feet'. I asked him if any report or paperwork needed to be filled out and was advised that the controller may be able to answer that question. We were then greeted by the controller who had stepped us through the process and said he was the one I had been talking to. He asked if we were Okay; to which we replied 'yes'. He then offered suggestions on how to be better prepared for this type of situation and was very cordial; polite; and professional. I asked if there were any reports I needed to file and he said he was not aware of any since no incident or damage had occurred. I then contacted my CFI and shared our experience with him. He suggested I file this report and we made arrangements to initiate IFR certification.

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.