Narrative:

I decided to fly a friend from hvn to anp, annapolis, lee. I filed IFR both ways to simply keep my hours up. I called burlington FSS the night before and got a briefing that certainly didn't highlight any flight restrs around the washington area. Again, on saturday morning, I called bridgeport FSS for an update of conditions and again, no mention of flight restrs or the ADIZ area that encompassed the lee airport, as I later found out. Arrival was uneventful and the place was a ghost town. We conducted our business and, upon our return to the airport, I ran into a local pilot at the office. I asked him what was the acceptable way to pick up a clearance. He informed me that if I couldn't reach clearance delivery on the ground to simply take off VFR, but stay in the pattern below 2500 ft and you should be able to reach them. I briefly looked at his VFR chart he was holding and it showed lee being inside the washington TCA, 2500-10000 ft ring. I tried clearance delivery, but with no success, I decided to take off and try approach. Upon liftoff, I called approach and told him we were VFR just off lee, looking for our IFR clearance back to hvn. He instructed me to land and call a phone number for our clearance. Once we landed, I called the phone number and they took my pilot information and asked me to re-file my IFR flight plan. We picked up our clearance and had an uneventful flight home. Reflecting back on the incident, I should have never taken another pilot's word for anything. I should have called departure on the ground and simply got my clearance. A point of confusion for me was, why the current washington sectional would still show the TCA elevation rings like always, when in fact the control is from 0-18000 ft throughout this area. I have learned a valuable lesson through this incident, and I believe it will make me a better pilot for it.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A VERY LOW TIME PA32 SINGLE PLT VIOLATED THE WASHINGTON, DC ADIZ.

Narrative: I DECIDED TO FLY A FRIEND FROM HVN TO ANP, ANNAPOLIS, LEE. I FILED IFR BOTH WAYS TO SIMPLY KEEP MY HRS UP. I CALLED BURLINGTON FSS THE NIGHT BEFORE AND GOT A BRIEFING THAT CERTAINLY DIDN'T HIGHLIGHT ANY FLT RESTRS AROUND THE WASHINGTON AREA. AGAIN, ON SATURDAY MORNING, I CALLED BRIDGEPORT FSS FOR AN UPDATE OF CONDITIONS AND AGAIN, NO MENTION OF FLT RESTRS OR THE ADIZ AREA THAT ENCOMPASSED THE LEE ARPT, AS I LATER FOUND OUT. ARR WAS UNEVENTFUL AND THE PLACE WAS A GHOST TOWN. WE CONDUCTED OUR BUSINESS AND, UPON OUR RETURN TO THE ARPT, I RAN INTO A LCL PLT AT THE OFFICE. I ASKED HIM WHAT WAS THE ACCEPTABLE WAY TO PICK UP A CLRNC. HE INFORMED ME THAT IF I COULDN'T REACH CLRNC DELIVERY ON THE GND TO SIMPLY TAKE OFF VFR, BUT STAY IN THE PATTERN BELOW 2500 FT AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO REACH THEM. I BRIEFLY LOOKED AT HIS VFR CHART HE WAS HOLDING AND IT SHOWED LEE BEING INSIDE THE WASHINGTON TCA, 2500-10000 FT RING. I TRIED CLRNC DELIVERY, BUT WITH NO SUCCESS, I DECIDED TO TAKE OFF AND TRY APCH. UPON LIFTOFF, I CALLED APCH AND TOLD HIM WE WERE VFR JUST OFF LEE, LOOKING FOR OUR IFR CLRNC BACK TO HVN. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO LAND AND CALL A PHONE NUMBER FOR OUR CLRNC. ONCE WE LANDED, I CALLED THE PHONE NUMBER AND THEY TOOK MY PLT INFO AND ASKED ME TO RE-FILE MY IFR FLT PLAN. WE PICKED UP OUR CLRNC AND HAD AN UNEVENTFUL FLT HOME. REFLECTING BACK ON THE INCIDENT, I SHOULD HAVE NEVER TAKEN ANOTHER PLT'S WORD FOR ANYTHING. I SHOULD HAVE CALLED DEP ON THE GND AND SIMPLY GOT MY CLRNC. A POINT OF CONFUSION FOR ME WAS, WHY THE CURRENT WASHINGTON SECTIONAL WOULD STILL SHOW THE TCA ELEVATION RINGS LIKE ALWAYS, WHEN IN FACT THE CTL IS FROM 0-18000 FT THROUGHOUT THIS AREA. I HAVE LEARNED A VALUABLE LESSON THROUGH THIS INCIDENT, AND I BELIEVE IT WILL MAKE ME A BETTER PLT FOR IT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.