PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 197.3; Flight Crew Total 1330; Flight Crew Type 1200
Situational Awareness; Time Pressure
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Airspace Violation All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General None Reported / Taken
Weather; Procedure; Human Factors; Aircraft
During a ten hour flight I decided to deviate to Keystone Air Park (42J) for fuel. This routing to 42J for fuel kept me west and north of convective weather building on the East Coast of Florida. Upon making the decision to deviate; I reviewed the surrounding airspace and all pertinent airport data. I landed the plane without incident and quickly topped off on fuel and filed a flight plan for my next leg of the trip. During the initial VFR climb out; I should have flown 10 degrees more left of course to ensure complete clearance of the restricted area; however I was trying to get my IFR clearance from Jacksonville Approach at the time. The Controller advised me to standby because they were doing a Controller hand off at the time. I should have double checked my position to ensure I was west of the restricted area. When the Controller finally contacted me; he advised me that I had potentially penetrated R-2903A and it was active. He then gave me a phone number to contact Jacksonville by phone when I landed. He then gave me my IFR clearance to continue to my destination in North Carolina. Upon landing; I contacted Jacksonville Approach and explained the situation to them. There were two contributing factors to this issue. The first issue was haste. I was trying to hurry to top off on fuel and get back in the air because I still had a long way to travel. I saw the restricted area when I first reviewed the airspace and airport data; but I did not give it enough attention on departure. The second and most significant contributor to this incident has to deal with a GPS update. When I updated my GPS the week prior; for some reason it dumped all the airspace. I have been used to having that information handy for the last 5 years of my flying career. I did have the chart in front of me and my iPad as well; but I have my GPS set to give an audible alarm when I am within 5 NM of any restricted airspace. That was basically a break from my routine. I have taken measures to ensure this will never happen again with respect to my pre-flight planning and my before takeoff checklist.
PA28 pilot reports inadvertent entry into R2903A due to two factors. The first was haste to get back in the air for a planed long flight day; and the second was the loss of airspace information in the GPS during an update the week prior.