PA-44 Seminole/Turbo Seminole
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180; Flight Crew Total 715; Flight Crew Type 130
Situational Awareness; Time Pressure; Communication Breakdown
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Weather; Human Factors
I departed ZZZ on an instructional flight in an IFR flight plan to try to get VFR on top for training maneuvers. When leveled at 4;000 feet MSL; I was in VFR conditions between two layers and requesting radar vectors to get to an area with better conditions; I was instructed to climb to 6;000 feet but due to the outside temperature being 0 [degrees] Celsius; I told ATC I was unable to climb to avoid icing conditions. As I continued on a heading of 180 as instructed by ATC; I realized I was not going to be able to get into an area of better weather conditions so I requested to go back to ZZZ on the RNAV XXL Approach. As I proceeded southbound; I saw some clouds in my way so I asked for different headings to try to avoid those clouds and thus getting into icing since my aircraft is not rated for flights into known icing. Since ATC didn't give me the vectors I required I turned right to a heading of 210 to avoid this one cloud and once I started turning back to my assigned heading ATC asked me for which heading I was flying; and once I told I was turning back to 180; they gave me a phone number to call for possible pilot deviation. After that I continued following the vectors; ended up going into clouds but did not pick up any icing and landed safely at ZZZ without other problems.
PA44 pilot reported a heading deviation when ATC was slow in providing vectors around weather.