Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 6; Flight Crew Total 250; Flight Crew Type 250
Distraction; Human-Machine Interface
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Aircraft
I am a low time private pilot. On the day of the flight; I was excited to use recently obtained iPad software with moving map; etc. for situational awareness as I am still getting comfortable with an iPad based system vs. paper maps. I started with a low battery and the iPad was not charging in flight as it should have. Eventually it died. In the few minutes of trying to get it to respond and pull out paper backups; I relied on my eyes to direct my route of flight. There is a southwesterly oriented valley that I gently turned the plane toward...even though I had already plenty of altitude. It just 'felt' like the prudent thing to do. (who can argue with more altitude over the terrain.) The problem of allowing the plane to change the route of flight along this path was that it directed me toward the floor of the Seattle class B at 3;000 ft. Once I realized the problem; I turned southeast to exit the potential problem as rapidly as possible. By my measure; I only avoided the Class B airspace by 1 mile. WAY TOO CLOSE. There are a number of things that; appear somewhat obvious in retrospect. 1) Don't allow electrical devices to lull you into weaker pre-flight planning than you would normally perform. 2) If relying on an electronic device; it is only as good as the battery and operating system running it. 3) Don't change the 'plan' because of a minor challenge. (I let my eyes lead me off the planned route of flight that avoided the class B.) 4) Use the autopilot when things don't go as planned.
C182 pilot reported that an EFB malfunction and loss of situational awareness nearly caused an airspace incursion.