Small Aircraft; Low Wing; 1 Eng; Retractable Gear
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 17; Flight Crew Total 800; Flight Crew Type 22
Distraction; Training / Qualification; Workload
Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Exited Penetrated Airspace
Airspace Structure; Environment - Non Weather Related; Procedure; Human Factors
I had just taken off with four passengers; at max gross. Well; I was 72 LBS over gross; since we were going to need that much fuel to make it all the way home without stopping. There were several aircraft in the traffic pattern. I am not based near [this airport]; and though I had flown there twice before; I had never flown into it in this model of aircraft. After taking off; I turned right crosswind and then right downwind as I climbed to 5;900 FT MSL; which is 100 FT below the base of the Class Bravo airspace in the sector in which [this airport] is located. I leveled off at 5;900 MSL; intending to then transition to a sector of airspace in which the base of the Bravo was 6;500 FT MSL. As I monitored communication frequencies to confirm I was not in the path of any incoming or outgoing aircraft; I simultaneously endeavored to stay a minimum of 1;000 FT AGL above the rising foothills; as well as managing pitch and power to not go higher than 5;900 FT MSL. While I was juggling these three balls; make that four balls because I was also trying to keep my turns to 20 degrees of bank angle since this was the first time I had ever deliberately flown over gross; I happened to notice on my yoke mounted GPS that I was aiming right at the sector of Bravo directly north of the sector in which [the departure airport] is located. I was going to enter the Bravo in approximately ten seconds. I began a 20 degree turn to the left and watched as my little plane icon penetrated the forbidden zone. For what seemed like quite a long time; I was fixated on the plane and it's very leisurely exit from Class Bravo. I think we were in the Bravo for around one minute. I do not think we were ever close to any traffic. Next time I fly out of this airport on this mission I will: a) pack lighter so as to be able to take more fuel and not exceed max gross; b) file IFR and have Bravo working for me instead of against me; c) let Approach know that they really should figure out a way for people to exit to the northwest without having to scrape the foothills with their landing gear on the way out of town. Those little slices of air underneath Bravo are overly stingy.
Pilot of a small private aircraft on a VFR flight plan; took off over gross weight from an airport under Class Bravo airspace violating the airspace on departure. Pilot attributes the airspace violation to the limited vertical space between the nearby mountains and the floor of the Class Bravo.