Comment thread "Don't depart IFR on a VFR day!" for Essex County Airport

I must have tied up traffic for 30 minutes of more waiting at the entrance for my IFR clearance. I'd taxied out after being told to, but there were 4 or 5 planes waiting behind me and by the time I suddenly realized that I could depart VFR and pick up a clearance later, the clearance had actually come. I felt like a complete dick.

I had exactly the same experience at Republic in spring 2004, right down to sitting on the runway (as instructed by tower) and holding everyone else up. Same lesson -- if you can take a VFR departure out of a NY-area airport, do. It's the controller's error putting you on the runway before your clearance is ready, but why invite trouble in the first place?

Reply to @david: I don't understand this. Why would you begin to taxi before getting your clearance. Just wondering

In my case, I taxied without the IFR clearance because that was what I was instructed to do when I called for a clearance.

Normally, a control tower will put your IFR clearance on request with center, then clear you to taxi to the active while they're waiting for the clearance to arrive for them to relay to you.