Small aircraft pilot reported not being handed off to myf tower by sct TRACON. Pilot was VFR and did...

Narrative:

VFR flight to myf cruise altitude was 10;500. Flight following was obtained. La center handed me off to socal app cleared me into class B and vectored me southwest (200 degrees) and asked me to stay at 10;500; which kept me a little high. I hadn't heard from socal for a bit; so I radioed that 'I had [the weather]' and when they lifted the altitude restriction and cleared me direct to myf; I descended quickly (1000 ft/min) calculating that I would still be above gillespie airspace. I incorrectly assumed that socal app was going to tell me to contact myf tower with a frequency. That handoff never came and by the time a radioed socal back 'saying I had myf in sight' it was too late. Socal app said 'you should already be talking to myf.' no frequency given. I immediately tried myf tower on 119.2 (the main freq on my chart) no answer to my call; and albeit late started to turn north away from the field; but I know that I had already descended into their airspace.I tried the second frequency quickly (125.7) and got an immediate response (although for some reason they had me in their system as [one letter off in call sign]) and the controller quickly identified me and directed me over the airport into left traffic for 28R. Extended downwind and less than stellar landing; a little flustered after hearing the possible pilot deviation and to call tower. Needed a progressive taxi (only 2nd time to myf and lots of construction). I called the myf tower and spoke to [name removed] (very polite; new to shift and he would forward my call on up).contributing factors; etc.1) waited too long for an expected handoff from socal; but I am responsible for the D airspace at myf.2) steeper than normal descent into a relatively unfamiliar airport.3) I have been doing a lot of IFR training in the last few months and I think I was used to hearing ATC vectoring me and handing me off to tower. I know that VFR is different and I think I fell into that trap of overdependence. A mistake I will not make again.4) I need to complete my IFR training; and improve my situational awareness.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Small aircraft pilot reported not being handed off to MYF Tower by SCT TRACON. Pilot was VFR and did not avoid delta airspace. Pilot reported he had been under IFR training lately and was expecting a handoff from the TRACON to the Tower.

Narrative: VFR Flight to MYF cruise altitude was 10;500. Flight following was obtained. LA Center handed me off to SoCal App cleared me into Class B and vectored me SW (200 degrees) and asked me to stay at 10;500; which kept me a little high. I hadn't heard from SoCal for a bit; so I radioed that 'I had [the weather]' and when they lifted the altitude restriction and cleared me direct to MYF; I descended quickly (1000 ft/min) calculating that I would still be above Gillespie airspace. I incorrectly assumed that SoCal App was going to tell me to contact MYF tower with a frequency. That handoff never came and by the time a radioed SoCal back 'saying I had MYF in sight' it was too late. SoCal App said 'you should already be talking to MYF.' No frequency given. I immediately tried MYF tower on 119.2 (the main freq on my chart) no answer to my call; and albeit late started to turn N away from the field; but I know that I had already descended into their airspace.I tried the second frequency quickly (125.7) and got an immediate response (although for some reason they had me in their system as [one letter off in call sign]) and the controller quickly identified me and directed me over the airport into Left traffic for 28R. Extended downwind and less than stellar landing; a little flustered after hearing the possible pilot deviation and to call tower. Needed a progressive taxi (only 2nd time to MYF and lots of construction). I called the MYF tower and spoke to [name removed] (very polite; new to shift and he would forward my call on up).Contributing factors; etc.1) Waited too long for an expected handoff from SoCal; but I am responsible for the D airspace at MYF.2) Steeper than normal descent into a relatively unfamiliar airport.3) I have been doing a lot of IFR training in the last few months and I think I was used to hearing ATC vectoring me and handing me off to tower. I know that VFR is different and I think I fell into that trap of overdependence. A mistake I will not make again.4) I need to complete my IFR training; and improve my situational awareness.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1347451
Time
Date	201604
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	MYF.Airport
State Reference	CA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Retractable Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach Vectors
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30 Flight Crew Total 605 Flight Crew Type 105
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Clearance

Small aircraft pilot reported not being handed off to myf tower by sct TRACON. Pilot was VFR and did not avoid delta airspace. Pilot reported he had been under IFR training lately and was expecting a handoff from the TRACON to the tower.