On 2006-10-29, CareBear wrote:

I had asked
my CFI if he thought I should fly another time and he replied with something
along the lines of how do YOU feel about it?
[snip]
I decided to go above the clouds. I talked to Huntsville Center
and informed them of my intentions. They had no problem with my decision

One of the great things about aviation is that the regulations and the
flying community still value personal responsibility. Aviation is not
a world of safety scissors, low-temperature coffee and stickers on
everything saying "Do Not Eat". When you're pilot in command, the buck
stops with you. I applaud you for getting the input of your instructor
and a controller. However, I'm concerned that you seem to be deferring
to their judgement to rationalize an iffy decision when your own instincts
suggest a more conservative course. Controllers, in particular, will
from time to time give you very bad advice. You need look no farther
than these newsgroups for ample evidence of that!

Also, since I didn't notice anyone else suggesting it, you might want to
send in an ASRS form since you did bust the rule about students flying
without visual reference to the ground.

--
Ben Jackson AD7GD

http://www.ben.com/