Quote:
Originally Posted by sdfcvoh  Would you (dear reader) have done about the same thing I did if you were in the exact situation I was last night? |
Although it's prudent to hear "Cleared into the Class B", there is no specific requirement that you hear that language or that ATC use it, although the ATC Handbook suggests it as an example.
The NTSB has ruled that if you have an assigned heading and altitude that takes you into the Class B, that's an implicit clearance into the airspace. Sounds like, however, you had the altitude, but no heading, so arguably you could have dodged the airspace if you had wanted to.
The fact that he assigned you an altitude still suggests that he intended you to enter the Class B airspace, because ATC lacks the authority to assign altitudes to VFR aircraft in Class E airspace. Still, I would have said (and do a lot) "Verify Class B Clearance for Cessna XXXXXX".