Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 27; Flight Crew Type 209
Distraction
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Aircraft; Human Factors; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings
Flying my 182 from ZZZ to an avionics shop in ZZZ1 to correct autopilot issues. The weather was unsettled - standard late afternoon 'pop up' convection in the greater [city] area. I decided to fly south around the west side of [the city] since the weather looked best in that area. Immediately after departing I received an indication that my panel GPS was not receiving signal. I had reviewed Airport; Obstacle; TFR; and ARTCC NOTAMS but did not see any indication of expected GPS signal loss. Given the recent challenges with my autopilot - I considered that perhaps this was yet another 'issue' with my avionics. Initially - I knew the area well enough to navigate by sight (while heading SW) but I then turned on my Stratus and connected to my iPad that I keep for back up to regain situational awareness of my location. At this point my altitude was level at 3200 ft MSL and I decided to turn south flying under the 4000 foot base of the Bravo airspace. As I continued on the heading I noticed some convection forming and decided to lower my altitude to 3000 ft MSL and fly right around the corner of the Bravo shelf that sits at 3000 MSL. At this point; still about 8-10 miles from ZZZZZ I got another 'lost GPS signal' from my panel and immediately reverted to my Status/iPad combination which appeared to be working. A few minutes later - the panel GPS returned and my iPad 'flashed' and showed me approximate 2-4 miles at the Bravo 3000 ft MSL shelf. I immediately reduced altitude to 2800 ft and continued to fly out from under the shelf to the 4000 ft MSL Bravo shelf and then on to ZZZ2 where I landed. It is unclear if I in fact 'busted' the Bravo or not - it was certainly very close. I'll also mentioned that I left ZZZ2 in a different airplane headed east about 1 hour later and it initially had GPS reception challenges as well - so perhaps something was going on with the GPS network. In reflection - it is clear that I've been very comfortable with technology based navigation - and did not think to use pilotage as a backup for electronic navigation. It is also worth noting that I was flying after a full day of work; still distracted from work issues; and flying in stressful weather conditions as well - and was not as fresh as I should have been for this flight.
Cessna 182 pilot reported experiencing intermittent 'lost GPS signal' alerts while attempting to avoid Class B airspace and significant weather.