But they do assume you understand what you're requesting.

I do. I am at 5000 feet. I am requesting a clearance which will allow me to
climb to 7000, stay there a while, go back down to 5000 feet, and go even
lower, even down to the ground at my destination. Does "cruise 7000" not allow
me to do that?


If you're afraid to enter clouds there's no reason for you to pursue an
instrument rating...


There are some clouds that nobody should penetrate. There are some clouds a
cherokee shouldn't penetrate. There are some clouds my mind will never
penetrate. And there are some occasions where, even though a cloud is benign,
I would prefer not to enter it.

Early in my IFR career, I saw lightning in a cloud right in front of me, a
cloud that was no more than 2000 feet thick. It made no sense to me, but I
wasn't going to enter something like that that made no sense to me. I asked
for and got a clearance above it, and found out that what I was seeing was the
lightning from a thunderstorm a hundred miles ahead, at night, which lit up the
cloud in front of me. I learned something that day.

It happens, despite evidence to the contrary.

Jose


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