PA-28 pilot reported losing GPS signal on his ipad during climb below den class B and believes he ma...

Attributes
ACN	1369153
Time
Date	201607
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	DEN.Airport
State Reference	CO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	GPS & Other Satellite Navigation
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 7 Flight Crew Total 490 Flight Crew Type 4
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural FAR

Narrative:

I departed bjc southbound along the foothills close to denver. Using my ipad without a supplemental GPS receiver; I lost GPS location and might have inadvertently crossed the southwest tip of den class B airspace between 10K and 12K ft during my climb. The aircraft has an installed garmin GPS; however the moving map and display are quite inferior to the foreflight system; so I did not have it properly set to monitor my position at that moment. I switched to foreflight on my phone as part of my troubleshooting. My phone seemed to have a good GPS signal and upon seeing my position; outside of class B (but on a flight path which could have crossed class B); I promptly descended below 10000 ft to avoid any possible class B re-entry. It was becoming hot and the climb performance of my dakota was beginning to suffer. So; with the heat; the apparent loss of GPS location; and my limited familiarity with the terrain I was entering I decided to return to my point of departure. An obvious remedy would be to ensure that my ipad has a reliable GPS source prior to taking off. I have since purchased a separate supplemental GPS receiver to help avoid losses of situational awareness. Another remedy would be to have the aircraft installed GPS set appropriately to help monitor and track position. Additionally; better knowledge of the airspace surrounding dia would have been useful for planning my climb.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28 pilot reported losing GPS signal on his iPad during climb below DEN Class B and believes he may have entered the airspace between 10000 and 12000 feet.

Narrative: I departed BJC southbound along the foothills close to Denver. Using my iPad without a supplemental GPS receiver; I lost GPS location and might have inadvertently crossed the southwest tip of DEN Class B airspace between 10K and 12K ft during my climb. The aircraft has an installed Garmin GPS; however the moving map and display are quite inferior to the Foreflight system; so I did not have it properly set to monitor my position at that moment. I switched to Foreflight on my phone as part of my troubleshooting. My phone seemed to have a good GPS signal and upon seeing my position; outside of Class B (but on a flight path which could have crossed Class B); I promptly descended below 10000 ft to avoid any possible Class B re-entry. It was becoming hot and the climb performance of my Dakota was beginning to suffer. So; with the heat; the apparent loss of GPS location; and my limited familiarity with the terrain I was entering I decided to return to my point of departure. An obvious remedy would be to ensure that my iPad has a reliable GPS source prior to taking off. I have since purchased a separate supplemental GPS receiver to help avoid losses of situational awareness. Another remedy would be to have the aircraft installed GPS set appropriately to help monitor and track position. Additionally; better knowledge of the airspace surrounding DIA would have been useful for planning my climb.

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.

PA-28 pilot reported losing GPS signal on his ipad during climb below den class B and believes he may have entered the airspace between 10000 and 12000 feet.