Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 11; Flight Crew Total 408; Flight Crew Type 408
Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness
Airspace Violation All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors; Aircraft
I rented a C-172 to fly out to Catalina Island (AVX). In the week prior to the trip; I purchased a new application for my iPhone/iPad and a GPS receiver for the device. This application provides moving map display of the aircraft on Sectional Charts and Displays positional data for various airspaces. I also utilized other iPhone/iPad apps as well as Internet data to obtain airport information; weather observations; forecasts; and flight planning data. This was my first trip using this new application and I was excited in knowing the situational awareness and relative position to airspace would be easily viewed. I was also able to plot my exact route using GPS coordinates and noted the various ATC agencies from which I would need to obtain clearances. I headed out over the open ocean to the south tip of Catalina Island. Visibility was 20 plus miles and I could see the island from the mainland. My altitude enroute varied between 800 FT and 1;200 FT. I landed Catalina and upon exiting the aircraft; a local pilot asked me from which direction I came and advised me of the nearby TFR. Upon reviewing my flight path and the TFR; I believe the incident occurred just south of Catalina Island as I may have penetrated the 60 NM diameter TFR which required ATC Clearance prior to transition. Based on my post flight review of my GPS Data and flight path; I likely entered the TFR on the 100 degree radial of the Santa Catalina VOR (SXC) at approximately 34 NM and exited the TFR on the 110 radial of the Santa Catalina VOR (SXC) at approximately 7 NM. This would have placed me approximately 3.75 NM inside the 60 NM diameter TFR at the deepest point. The TFR was a 30 NM radius with center at 7 NM off the 229 radial of the El Toro VOR on the mainland. Being excited about the new situational awareness capability of the device I was using; I made the error of assuming all airspace was portrayed; including any TFRs. Upon review of the application I used for navigation; I discovered my error in that it does NOT graphically display TFRs. The resolution to this problem is that I simply will never rely on new technology as the sole means of my flight planning data. Instead; I will continue the practice I used in my previous 25 years of flying and call Flight Service for a briefing. I will use the iPad/iPhone applications only as supplements to my flight planning data and not as the sole source of that data.
C172 pilot discovers that his new iPAD moving map application does not include TFR's; after the fact.