IFR Popup Clearance

This Sunday I requested and exercised my first Popup clearance.  I have had my instrument rating for about 6 months now and I have made several approaches in actual IFR, and I have spend a fair amount of time in the clouds.  Now I have used another tool in the instrument pilot's tool kit.  The popup clearance.  Normally to fly in/through a cloud, a pilot needs to be flying an instrument qualified airplane (all the right instruments, current pitot static check, and VORs tested in the last 30 days), be instrument current, and be on a filed IFR flight plan.

Say you are out sight seeing, free to go where ever your heart desires.  Flying around a mountain, over the city or perhaps up high to see the sun.  A flight plan would not allow for this as you would need to follow a specific path defined by way points.  But you need to follow visual flight rules, even if you are instrument current and your airplane instrument qualified.  You need to be on a filed flight plan to fly through a cloud.  If one forms over your airport while you are gone then you may need to go a good distance out of your way to get under it.

There is an exception.  If you have radar service, then you can request a popup clearance.  This is a way to have a controller help you transition through a cloud on a temporary "flight plan" defined by radar vectors.  For me it went something like the following:
N4404J: Portland Approach, Cherokee 4404J with request.
PDX App: Go ahead
N4404J: I am 15nm north of VUO at niner thousand fife hundred feet and I would like a popup clearance from my current position to VUO.
PDX App: 04J Squawk 1401 expect radar vectors in 2 miles.
N4404J: 1401 and expect radar vectors 04J
PDX App: 04J, you are radar contact 3 miles north of Battle Ground VOR, turn heading 210 and descent to fife thousand feet.
N4404J: heading 210 descend fife thousand 04J
...
Several heading changes and altitude changes
...
N4404J: 04J is in visual conditions and would like to cancel IFR at this time
PDX App: 04J Cancellation received, squawk 1200 and frequency change approved
N4404J: 1200, Thank you for your assistance

It is as easy as that.  I am still smiling.  There is a video of the transition on youtube here.