Flying the following flight plan in Cessna 172:
L52 HIHWY MAIDD PEPRZ HEVVY ROKKR ZEPPE IVINS MIKEI SILEX BUDDE KBUR
IFR low alt airways, 9000 ft
near HIHWY I’m at 9000 ft and ATC is asking me to climb to FL200 (there are mountains there but not higher than 080) ?
P.S. and it definitely thinks I’m in a jet, asking me for speeds “not above 250”
Yes, ATC is wonky, especially on approach.
Until (if?) it is all sorted out, your best option is when this happens, just fly the altitude you know is correct.
ATC may drive you silly for a bit after that, nagging you to climb, but eventually they will catch up.
Though it isn’t in your flight plan by name, you have essentially filed the ROKKR2 arrival into Burbank. There are speed and altitude constraints on that arrival and that is what ATC is clearing you for.
As @MikeB54331 posts, the Arrival you are using has maximum and minimum altitude restrictions. Even though your flight plan cruise altitude is 9,000 ft, it doesn’t mean that ATC can’t give you a climb instruction to a higher altitude. ATC isn’t wonky or broken. ATC is correct telling you to climb to FL200. It assumes you are a jet because your flight plan has an arrival designed for airliners and jets. GA aircraft usually don’t use arrivals because of altitude/speed restrictions.
Edit: Fix altitude.
Really?
The ATC is indeed wonky at times, particularly so on approaches.
He is not talking FL020 as you mentioned, he mentioned FL200 (by the way, below FL180 is is expressed in feet, not FL)
I get constant requests from ATC at 15 to 20 miles out on approaches to climb to 20, 000 feet (FL200) or so.
I fly nearly exclusively jets and airliners, and do so at least once a day.
The altitude constraints in my flight plans at those times are often showing 3-6 thousand.
Using the rule of 3 at FL200, that would need 60nm (20 x3) to descend.
You can’t descend from FL200 in 20nm.
There are also numerous posts in here on that issue.
If you would like, I can link you to some of them, if you are having trouble finding them!
I have this problem when I fly out of range airport’s approach ATC (even for a moment, few minutes - f.e. on STAR) and I’m intercepted by area control centre. Then very often ATC asks me to climb from for example 5000 ft to FL200 or FL220.
Read above post!
I am not talking about “that” issue but the OP issue of ATC climb instruction during the ARRIVAL, not the APPROACH, to FL200 (altitude restriction) for a C172. The IAF is probably around 50 nm from that waypoint. ATC is correct giving the climb instruction at that waypoint. According to the chart, the arrival descent is reasonable for a jet to the IAF. Is ATC doing something wrong here?
I am not saying ATC is 100% perfect all the time. (Nor is it 100% perfect IRL either.) ATC has given me weird instructions like clearing me for takeoff when I am taxiing to a gate. However, I’ve never had ATC give a climb instruction to 20,000 ft during an APPROACH 20 nm to the runway. But this is different from the OP. I agree that over 60 nm is needed for descent and ATC would be wrong here. Send me the info or the link to a flight plan where this happens.
I was just referring to the statement that it was neither wonky or broken, plus when you had mentioned the unedited altitude, that also gave me some questions.
I obviously disagree with that!!
I don’t think sending the FP would prove too much, but thanks for offering!
What I can do is send you a pic with the ATC window giving climb instructions, and the ND showing constraints and distances the next time I run into it.
Thanks for the clarification though, particularly on arrival/approach!
It is very much appreciated.
I look up the altitude of the waypoints for landing. ATC RARELY has me descend early enough, so I request the altitude for the waypoint. I get approval.
Two waypoints from landing when I should be at about 6K ft, ATC tells me to increase to FL160. Really?
It is as if, the “AI” is “AS” (artificial stupidity), and needs to walk through the descent regardless of what it already permitted, and where I am…
And then tells me to reduce to three lower altitudes is rapid succession to catch up to where I was to begin with.
You can’t ignore or it will cancel IFR. I keep asking it for heading to waypoint, for the next 10 mins, until Tower takes over.
What are you using as a flight palnner?
Sorry… been 11 days, but if still curious, I use the Flight Planner in the MS simulator. Either select low alt. or high Alt airways.
Do you select an arrival runway and approach, or do you leave those on “auto”
Do you select an altitude in the Nav Log, or do you leave that to auto select as well?
Yes. I select runway and approach. If you select the approach, it is automatically updated to to the nav system. Click on flight plan in the cockpit Nav and the way points and approach will be already carried over from the flight planning map.
If you enter an altitude in the flight plan, ATC will get you to the cruising altitude.
You may find that if you leave your approach on Auto, ATC is better at descent and does not try to make you climb while you are on arrival near as much.
There is no question about the fact that they need to upgrade ATC big time. I’m not sure who is actually in charge of that part of it, Asobo or another but they either need to get a third party addon to do the heavy lifting or something because its pretty bad. I was flying into Monterrey Mexico and because of the mountains, when decending the ATC wouldn’t stop changing there mind on my altitude. It kept saying for me to go between 8000 and 5400 none stop for like ten minutes it was so annoying 
Closed topic as issue was marked solved by OP.
