Narrative:

The student departed to the southeast VFR to tix for touch-and-goes. Due to haze and low ceilings, he diverted to the west to practice maneuvers. Upon reaching the lake brantley area, the student performed maneuvers and noticed his directional gyro had precessed excessively and had become disoriented/lost. He had received a WX brief previous to his flight and it had no indication of low clouds or ground fog in the area. However, at this point there were significant low level clouds and fog and this compounded his disorientation. He then proceeded to a rough heading of northeast toward where he thought sfb was located. The VOR in the C152 was not operational. He then saw a beacon of an airport which he thought was sanford, dialed in ATIS and made his initial call. Sanford tower received the call and his initial position in his transmission was approximately 10-12 mi to the southwest. Sfb tower requested he report a 3 mi final for runway 9R. He then called this 3 mi final and sfb had no beacon code in his vicinity. Tower requested a landing light flash and this proved unsuccessful. Tower contacted orl approach for a beacon code and he was requested to squawk xyz and identify. A few moments later, dab approach contacted orl approach and asked if they were looking for xyz. In actuality, the aircraft was on a 3 mi final to dab runway 7L. He was then xferred to dab approach and they cleared him out of the airspace. He was then xferred back to orl approach and assigned radar vectors to sfb. He then contacted sfb tower and was sequenced in for a touch-and-go, followed by a full stop. Sfb tower and the instructor discussed the situation. The student returned the aircraft with no damage and his physiological state is unharmed. We sat down to discuss what happened and a NASA report was recommended.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: STUDENT PLT BECOMES DISORIENTED AND INADVERTENTLY ENTERS DAB CLASS C AIRSPACE ON HIS WAY HOME FROM THE PRACTICE AREA.

Narrative: THE STUDENT DEPARTED TO THE SE VFR TO TIX FOR TOUCH-AND-GOES. DUE TO HAZE AND LOW CEILINGS, HE DIVERTED TO THE W TO PRACTICE MANEUVERS. UPON REACHING THE LAKE BRANTLEY AREA, THE STUDENT PERFORMED MANEUVERS AND NOTICED HIS DIRECTIONAL GYRO HAD PRECESSED EXCESSIVELY AND HAD BECOME DISORIENTED/LOST. HE HAD RECEIVED A WX BRIEF PREVIOUS TO HIS FLT AND IT HAD NO INDICATION OF LOW CLOUDS OR GND FOG IN THE AREA. HOWEVER, AT THIS POINT THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT LOW LEVEL CLOUDS AND FOG AND THIS COMPOUNDED HIS DISORIENTATION. HE THEN PROCEEDED TO A ROUGH HDG OF NE TOWARD WHERE HE THOUGHT SFB WAS LOCATED. THE VOR IN THE C152 WAS NOT OPERATIONAL. HE THEN SAW A BEACON OF AN ARPT WHICH HE THOUGHT WAS SANFORD, DIALED IN ATIS AND MADE HIS INITIAL CALL. SANFORD TWR RECEIVED THE CALL AND HIS INITIAL POS IN HIS XMISSION WAS APPROX 10-12 MI TO THE SW. SFB TWR REQUESTED HE RPT A 3 MI FINAL FOR RWY 9R. HE THEN CALLED THIS 3 MI FINAL AND SFB HAD NO BEACON CODE IN HIS VICINITY. TWR REQUESTED A LNDG LIGHT FLASH AND THIS PROVED UNSUCCESSFUL. TWR CONTACTED ORL APCH FOR A BEACON CODE AND HE WAS REQUESTED TO SQUAWK XYZ AND IDENT. A FEW MOMENTS LATER, DAB APCH CONTACTED ORL APCH AND ASKED IF THEY WERE LOOKING FOR XYZ. IN ACTUALITY, THE ACFT WAS ON A 3 MI FINAL TO DAB RWY 7L. HE WAS THEN XFERRED TO DAB APCH AND THEY CLRED HIM OUT OF THE AIRSPACE. HE WAS THEN XFERRED BACK TO ORL APCH AND ASSIGNED RADAR VECTORS TO SFB. HE THEN CONTACTED SFB TWR AND WAS SEQUENCED IN FOR A TOUCH-AND-GO, FOLLOWED BY A FULL STOP. SFB TWR AND THE INSTRUCTOR DISCUSSED THE SIT. THE STUDENT RETURNED THE ACFT WITH NO DAMAGE AND HIS PHYSIOLOGICAL STATE IS UNHARMED. WE SAT DOWN TO DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED AND A NASA RPT WAS RECOMMENDED.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.