Absent a specific turn direction from ATC; a PC12 crew departing IFR from jyo routed to stills elect...

Narrative:

Departing jyo runway 17 IFR; cleared direct to stills intersection; dulles approach was contacted immediately after take off. We had been given an altitude with no preferred direction for a turn direct to stills. Since we were still below 1500 feet; with VFR traffic in the pattern; I decided it would be proper to depart on a left downwind. When the controller saw us in the left turn he told us we should have turned right direct to stills so I rolled back to the right and was told then to just continue the left turn. The route we had been given after stills was looping us around the southeast inside the class bravo airspace. I wondered out loud why they would want to do that just before we were questioned by the controller as to where we were going. This is not the first time of late that I have found myself talking to a controller who didn't know how I had been cleared. It doesn't make me feel very safe or well controlled. We were then turned almost one hundred and eighty degrees around to the west to go direct to gve. I've been flying for thirty-six years and I wonder if we are experiencing a new breed of controller these days who really isn't doing much controlling. They are not making me feel very safe.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Absent a specific turn direction from ATC; a PC12 crew departing IFR from JYO routed to STILLS elected to make a left downwind departure due to pattern traffic. ATC questioned the turn direction.

Narrative: Departing JYO Runway 17 IFR; cleared direct to STILLS Intersection; Dulles Approach was contacted immediately after take off. We had been given an altitude with no preferred direction for a turn direct to STILLS. Since we were still below 1500 feet; with VFR traffic in the pattern; I decided it would be proper to depart on a left downwind. When the Controller saw us in the left turn he told us we should have turned right direct to STILLS so I rolled back to the right and was told then to just continue the left turn. The route we had been given after STILLS was looping us around the southeast inside the Class Bravo airspace. I wondered out loud why they would want to do that just before we were questioned by the Controller as to where we were going. This is not the first time of late that I have found myself talking to a Controller who didn't know how I had been cleared. It doesn't make me feel very safe or well controlled. We were then turned almost one hundred and eighty degrees around to the West to go direct to GVE. I've been flying for thirty-six years and I wonder if we are experiencing a new breed of controller these days who really isn't doing much controlling. They are not making me feel very safe.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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	890995
Time
Date	201005
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	JYO.Airport
State Reference	VA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PC-12
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise Takeoff
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 14000 Flight Crew Type 400
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

Absent a specific turn direction from ATC; a PC12 crew departing IFR from jyo routed to stills elected to make a left downwind departure due to pattern traffic. ATC questioned the turn direction.