Instructor and trainee pilots reported experiencing an airspace incursion into class C airspace.

Attributes
ACN	1747951
Time
Date	202006
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Light Transport
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Instructor
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10 Flight Crew Total 36000 Flight Crew Type 1500
Person 2
Function	Trainee Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 5 Flight Crew Total 1700 Flight Crew Type 200
Events
Anomaly	Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

Narrative:

This was a training flight to return the student (a 1;500 hour pilot) to flight status after a long layoff due to the covid virus. We had flown under instrument flight rules from ZZZ1 to ZZZ2 to ZZZ3 to ZZZ4 instrument approaches at each airport and a full stop landing at ZZZ4.the trainee indicated that he would like to view from the air some property that he operated northwest of ZZZ4. I briefed the trainee on the procedures that we would need to follow to transit under VFR including the necessity to communicate with air traffic control.on departure we were cleared 'on course' and I requested that the trainee to turn to a northerly heading to avoid the traffic at the nearby airport (ZZZ5). The student was; in my opinion; somewhat confused with trying to orient himself using an ipad device while I kept watch for traffic. We were also concerned with cloud ceiling that was lower than expected. Maintaining 500 feet below the clouds put the flight at 2;800 feet. Subsequently; we inadvertently entered the outer area of the class C airspace at ZZZ. As soon as I realized the error I directed the trainee to immediately take up a heading that would expeditiously clear the class C area. After clearing the area we were able to climb and proceed to our destination ZZZ1.the error that led to this deviation was my belief that the trainee understood the factors involved in VFR flight in the area. He did not. We have since reviewed the flight several times. A simple communication to ATC would have mitigated the error. A factor to consider was the trainee's use of the ipad in what should have been a total 'heads up' situation. A more complete pre-flight briefing would have kept this from happening. Additionally; these kinds of transgressions might be minimized if the entire area were to be one class B. All aircraft would be under positive control. Risk would be minimized.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Instructor and trainee pilots reported experiencing an airspace incursion into Class C airspace.

Narrative: This was a training flight to return the student (a 1;500 hour pilot) to flight status after a long layoff due to the COVID virus. We had flown under Instrument Flight Rules from ZZZ1 to ZZZ2 to ZZZ3 to ZZZ4 instrument approaches at each airport and a full stop landing at ZZZ4.The trainee indicated that he would like to view from the air some property that he operated northwest of ZZZ4. I briefed the trainee on the procedures that we would need to follow to transit under VFR including the necessity to communicate with Air Traffic Control.On departure we were cleared 'on course' and I requested that the trainee to turn to a northerly heading to avoid the traffic at the nearby airport (ZZZ5). The student was; in my opinion; somewhat confused with trying to orient himself using an iPad device while I kept watch for traffic. We were also concerned with cloud ceiling that was lower than expected. Maintaining 500 feet below the clouds put the flight at 2;800 feet. Subsequently; we inadvertently entered the outer area of the Class C airspace at ZZZ. As soon as I realized the error I directed the trainee to immediately take up a heading that would expeditiously clear the Class C area. After clearing the area we were able to climb and proceed to our destination ZZZ1.The error that led to this deviation was my belief that the trainee understood the factors involved in VFR flight in the area. He did not. We have since reviewed the flight several times. A simple communication to ATC would have mitigated the error. A factor to consider was the trainee's use of the iPad in what should have been a total 'heads up' situation. A more complete pre-flight briefing would have kept this from happening. Additionally; these kinds of transgressions might be minimized if the entire area were to be one Class B. All aircraft would be under positive control. Risk would be minimized.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.