Super King Air 200
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 18; Flight Crew Total 680; Flight Crew Type 420
Situational Awareness
Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Procedure; Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
My pre-departure clearance was the Bluegrass 4 SID; Lexington transition. I received a 'line up and wait' instruction; shortly followed by a takeoff instruction for runway 27. My concern was that these instructions were given very soon after the departure of a Boeing 737; and I was worried about wake turbulence; especially in light of the young passengers in the cabin. After liftoff; I initiated an expedited climb; followed by a turn to the southwest in an attempt to sidestep the flight path of the Boeing ahead of me. Covington tower handed me off to Cincinnati Approach; who then cleared me to the Kenlan intersection; which was the next waypoint on the departure. After receiving that clearance; the Departure Controller queried us as to the turn that we made on departure; and I explained that we were attempting to avoid wake turbulence. I heard no further word on the matter.Looking back; I never should have accepted the takeoff clearance that quickly after the departure of the Boeing. I'm sure that the Controller was following procedure; but I was not comfortable with the situation. I should have either rejected the takeoff clearance; or asked for an immediate turn to the southwest in order to avoid the 737's flight path.
King Air pilot reported a track deviation resulted when he turned to avoid possible wake turbulence from the previous departure; a B737.