Narrative:

The flight was an empty part 91 flight. I was in a hurry to get there before the tfr closed down the airspace. To save time I decided to takeoff VFR; go semi-direct and pick up my IFR or flight following enroute. The aircraft was equipped with a recently installed dual garmin 750 system and ads B. I programmed the left garmin 750 screen in the map enroute navigation phase and the right screen in the TCAS mode to observe location of other aircraft. I tuned in one VOR on hub (it had a NOTAM of OTS but it would be great for situational awareness if for some reason it worked) and the other VOR I tuned in iah.after takeoff I turned westbound; waited a while and then asked for a frequency change and tuned in and monitored departure control. There was a broken layer of about 50% coverage above me. I then observed about a 5 mile clear opening; checked and saw what I thought was the last ring of the houston class B airspace; checked my VOR/DME displays that I had set on VOR's (which neither gave me a DME readout); checked my TCAS screen to see if there was any aircraft that might be a conflict with and after additionally giving a good outside visual scan; I made a rapid climb through the opening. I climbed through 10;000 feet in the clear and decided rather than check in with houston departure that I would monitor enroute houston center. I picked up the destination ATIS and did not hear anything about the tfr airspace closure. I made my call to approach control and was told the tfr was now in effect and after discussing my options; I decided to get vectors to a different airport and wait out the tfr. Approach then informed me that houston approach had called them and wanted me to call them about a possible class B airspace violation. After landing; I had a conversation with the houston approach supervisor on duty who told me that I probably had gone through the houston class B airspace. I told him that I take that accusation very serious. I told him that I thought I had maneuvered outside the class B airspace but if he said I had gone in it then I would not argue with him and that I would actively self-investigate the incident to see what factors contributed to my navigation error. I asked him to please save the tapes and I would await with patience hearing from the houston FSDO for probable investigative action. At the termination of my flight back; I asked the lineman there to hook up an external power cart to my aircraft. I then went inside to the FBO flight planning room and tried to get a readout of my flight profile on the fltplan.com web site. Unfortunately for me; the aircraft owner has blocked that website from that information being observed. I then went back to the aircraft; turned on the avionics and tried to recreate to the best of my memory my flight path and try to figure out how 'I screwed up'! The best I can figure it out with my available data and memory is that I misread the garmin 750 map screen thinking I was clear of the class B airspace. I was too close in and evidently not on the optimum range selection.I am new to the garmin 750 navigation system. Upon finding out I would be flying airplanes that were being converted to that system I sat on the ramp in an airplane with another pilot and received several hours training. In addition; whenever possible I practice procedures and in flight changes to become more proficient in all the garmin 750 capabilities while waiting on passengers; etc. As a pilot I have been taught to try to use all available navaid and resources when flying. Unfortunately; the united states operational service volume navigation system seems to have downgraded the importance of the ground based VOR system. When I first started flying in the houston area; the hobby VOR was located near the middle of the airfield. There was an approach to every hobby runway based off the hub VOR. I love airfields with VOR's on the airfield because as soon as you tune in you know whereyou are in relationship to the airport. Instant situational awareness. Someone decided to spend millions of dollars and operational down time to move the hub VOR to the top of the hobby parking garage. They then shut it off while building the hobby international terminal (construction cranes causing signal interference) and to my knowledge it has not been turned back on since. I have asked ATC but have not been given an answer why it is still shut down or why it was moved in the first place.the southern half of the houston class B airspace uses the hub VOR as its epicenter for radials and DME. The northern half uses iah. Last year a general aviation lady pilot crashed and died trying to land at hobby airport. She said she could not find the airport. In the interest of aviation safety can someone get the hub VOR turned back on and the iah VOR maintained for a more reliable radial and DME signal since they are both the primary source for houston class B airspace definition?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Corporate Captain reported a possible IAH Class B airspace violation while using a Garmin 750 for navigation.

Narrative: The flight was an empty part 91 flight. I was in a hurry to get there before the TFR closed down the airspace. To save time I decided to takeoff VFR; go semi-direct and pick up my IFR or flight following enroute. The aircraft was equipped with a recently installed dual Garmin 750 System and ADS B. I programmed the left Garmin 750 screen in the map enroute navigation phase and the right screen in the TCAS mode to observe location of other aircraft. I tuned in one VOR on HUB (It had a NOTAM of OTS but it would be great for situational awareness if for some reason it worked) and the other VOR I tuned in IAH.After takeoff I turned westbound; waited a while and then asked for a frequency change and tuned in and monitored Departure Control. There was a broken layer of about 50% coverage above me. I then observed about a 5 mile clear opening; checked and saw what I thought was the last ring of the Houston Class B airspace; checked my VOR/DME displays that I had set on VOR's (which neither gave me a DME readout); checked my TCAS screen to see if there was any aircraft that might be a conflict with and after additionally giving a good outside visual scan; I made a rapid climb through the opening. I climbed through 10;000 feet in the clear and decided rather than check in with Houston Departure that I would monitor enroute Houston Center. I picked up the destination ATIS and did not hear anything about the TFR airspace closure. I made my call to Approach control and was told the TFR was now in effect and after discussing my options; I decided to get vectors to a different airport and wait out the TFR. Approach then informed me that Houston Approach had called them and wanted me to call them about a possible Class B airspace violation. After landing; I had a conversation with the Houston Approach Supervisor on duty who told me that I probably had gone through the Houston Class B airspace. I told him that I take that accusation very serious. I told him that I thought I had maneuvered outside the Class B airspace but if he said I had gone in it then I would not argue with him and that I would actively self-investigate the incident to see what factors contributed to my navigation error. I asked him to please save the tapes and I would await with patience hearing from the Houston FSDO for probable investigative action. At the termination of my flight back; I asked the lineman there to hook up an external power cart to my aircraft. I then went inside to the FBO flight planning room and tried to get a readout of my flight profile on the FltPlan.com web site. Unfortunately for me; the aircraft owner has blocked that website from that information being observed. I then went back to the aircraft; turned on the avionics and tried to recreate to the best of my memory my flight path and try to figure out how 'I screwed up'! The best I can figure it out with my available data and memory is that I misread the Garmin 750 map screen thinking I was clear of the Class B airspace. I was too close in and evidently not on the optimum range selection.I am new to the Garmin 750 navigation system. Upon finding out I would be flying airplanes that were being converted to that system I sat on the ramp in an airplane with another pilot and received several hours training. In addition; whenever possible I practice procedures and in flight changes to become more proficient in all the Garmin 750 capabilities while waiting on passengers; etc. As a pilot I have been taught to try to use all available Navaid and resources when flying. Unfortunately; the United States Operational Service Volume navigation system seems to have downgraded the importance of the ground based VOR system. When I first started flying in the Houston area; the Hobby VOR was located near the middle of the airfield. There was an approach to every Hobby runway based off the HUB VOR. I love airfields with VOR's on the airfield because as soon as you tune in you know whereyou are in relationship to the airport. Instant situational awareness. Someone decided to spend millions of dollars and operational down time to move the HUB VOR to the top of the Hobby parking garage. They then shut it off while building the Hobby International Terminal (construction cranes causing signal interference) and to my knowledge it has not been turned back on since. I have asked ATC but have not been given an answer why it is still shut down or why it was moved in the first place.The southern half of the Houston Class B airspace uses the HUB VOR as its epicenter for radials and DME. The northern half uses IAH. Last year a general aviation lady pilot crashed and died trying to land at Hobby airport. She said she could not find the airport. In the interest of aviation safety can someone get the HUB VOR turned back on and the IAH VOR maintained for a more reliable radial and DME signal since they are both the primary source for Houston Class B airspace definition?

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.