C172 pilot reported issues relating to VFR flight to IFR flight and confusion of when to cancel IFR.

Attributes
ACN	1607336
Time
Date	201812
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	MIE.Airport
State Reference	IN
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 2000 Flight Crew Type 1000
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

While enroute flight following from ZZZ to kmie weather was reporting clear sky; 12000 feet. Approximately 40 south of fort wayne I asked fort wayne approach to convert my flight following to IFR flight plan; anticipating the weather was not going to be clear sky as I was on top at 3500 MSL and noticing sky was not becoming clear as reported. I asked fort wayne approach for RNAV 21 into muncie starting on the cikep and they reported they could not grant the request. I noted I was never handed off to indianapolis approach which normally would occur at least 20 miles north of muncie kmie; and I was approximately 8 miles north. Fort wayne approach stated I was cleared for a visual to runway 21. At this time I would have over flow kmie if I had requested indianapolis approach. I saw an opening in the clouds and started a descent. I should have notified fort wayne approach immediately and then was reminded by fort wayne approach I was descending; at this point I immediately asked to cancel the IFR clearance and contacted kmie tower for permission to land. I should have asked fort wayne approach for a hand off to indianapolis approach sooner. I should have reported descent and cancel IFR clearance sooner. I believe with the government shutdown ATC had distractions also leading to failure to hand me off to indianapolis approach. I shall be more observant in the future.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 pilot reported issues relating to VFR flight to IFR flight and confusion of when to cancel IFR.

Narrative: While enroute flight following from ZZZ to KMIE weather was reporting clear sky; 12000 feet. Approximately 40 South of Fort Wayne I asked Fort Wayne Approach to convert my flight following to IFR Flight Plan; anticipating the weather was not going to be clear sky as I was on top at 3500 MSL and noticing sky was not becoming clear as reported. I asked Fort Wayne Approach for RNAV 21 into Muncie starting on the CIKEP and they reported they could not grant the request. I noted I was never handed off to Indianapolis Approach which normally would occur at least 20 miles North of Muncie KMIE; and I was approximately 8 miles North. Fort Wayne Approach stated I was cleared for a visual to Runway 21. At this time I would have over flow KMIE if I had requested Indianapolis Approach. I saw an opening in the clouds and started a descent. I should have notified Fort Wayne Approach immediately and then was reminded by Fort Wayne Approach I was descending; at this point I immediately asked to cancel the IFR clearance and contacted KMIE Tower for permission to land. I should have asked Fort Wayne Approach for a hand off to Indianapolis Approach sooner. I should have reported descent and cancel IFR clearance sooner. I believe with the Government Shutdown ATC had distractions also leading to failure to hand me off to Indianapolis Approach. I shall be more observant in the future.

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.