An airline pilot; recently reintroduced to general aviation and flying a light sport aircraft; wrong...

Attributes
ACN	991809
Time
Date	201202
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	IAH.Airport
State Reference	TX
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Light Sport Aircraft
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	GPS & Other Satellite Navigation
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 250 Flight Crew Total 20000 Flight Crew Type 12
Events
Anomaly	Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural FAR

Narrative:

I have been flying for the airlines for 28 years. I have recently gotten back into general aviation flying. My how things have changed! I love the GPS and its ability to warn me of airspace ahead. What I didn't realize is that the GPS doesn't protect me from climbing into airspace. I was flying VFR on a flight for enjoyment. I was watching the class B airspace above me. I assumed that the airspace started at 4;000 ft. I decided to climb to 3;500 ft. I had some time to play with the GPS so I checked nearest airspace and it informed me that I was inside class B airspace. The GPS was so good about warning me about airspace ahead that I assumed it would advise if I was climbing toward airspace. The funny thing is that if I didn't have the GPS; I would have been much more aware about the airspace. Since I had the GPS; I trusted it way more than I should have. I was monitoring 121.5 and nobody called to me so I assume there were no traffic conflicts. Other than embarrassing myself there was apparently no harm.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An airline pilot; recently reintroduced to general aviation and flying a light sport aircraft; wrongly assumed the GPS would warn him before he climbed into Class B airspace.

Narrative: I have been flying for the airlines for 28 years. I have recently gotten back into general aviation flying. My how things have changed! I love the GPS and its ability to warn me of airspace ahead. What I didn't realize is that the GPS doesn't protect me from CLIMBING into airspace. I was flying VFR on a flight for enjoyment. I was watching the Class B airspace above me. I assumed that the airspace started at 4;000 FT. I decided to climb to 3;500 FT. I had some time to play with the GPS so I checked nearest airspace and it informed me that I was inside class B airspace. The GPS was so good about warning me about airspace ahead that I assumed it would advise if I was climbing toward airspace. The funny thing is that if I didn't have the GPS; I would have been much more aware about the airspace. Since I had the GPS; I trusted it way more than I should have. I was monitoring 121.5 and nobody called to me so I assume there were no traffic conflicts. Other than embarrassing myself there was apparently no harm.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.

An airline pilot; recently reintroduced to general aviation and flying a light sport aircraft; wrongly assumed the GPS would warn him before he climbed into class B airspace.