GA SMA UNAUTHORIZED PENETRATION OF AIRSPACE PLUS GEAR UP DSCNT APCH UNTIL TWR CTLR REMINDED THE RPTR TO CHK GEAR POS.

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I CALLED IN 10 MI E TO LAND AT ITHACA; NY. TWR SAID 'RPT 5 MI FOR R BASE RWY 32'. AT THIS TIME TWR TALKED TO A COMMUTER COMING IN FROM THE N AT APPROX THE SAME ALT. I THOUGHT ABOUT THE TWR-COMMUTER XMISSION AND FELT IT WAS WISE TO KEEP WATCHING TO MY R FOR THE 'FASTER' COMMUTER (MY SMA CRUISES AT 130 KTS). AT ABOUT THE 5 MI POINT I SAW THE COMMUTER AND REALIZED IT DESERVED ATTN. I CONCENTRATED ON ITS COURSE AND DIVERTED SLIGHTLY TO BE SURE MY PLANE WOULD PULL IN BEHIND THE COMMUTER. WHEN I WAS SURE I WAS WELL BEHIND THE COMMUTER I RPTED INTO THE TWR THAT I HAD PULLED BEHIND THE COMMUTER. I WAS WITHIN THE 5 MI RPTING DISTANCE AND THE TWR OBJECTED. THE HAZE MADE VISUAL REFS DIFFICULT SO I WAS NOT AS AWARE OF MY 'CLOSENESS' TO THE ARPT AS I SHOULD HAVE BEEN. I DID CONCENTRATE ON THE COMMUTER TFC MORE THAN THE RPTING POINT. MY PRIORITY WAS SAFETY. THE TWR CTLR DID NOT MAKE ME AWARE OF THE COMMUTER TFC. I MADE MYSELF AWARE OF THE SITUATION WAY BEFORE IT COULD HAVE BECOME AN ISSUE AND DIVERTED SLIGHTLY TO INSURE A WIDE BERTH AROUND (BEHIND) THE COMMUTER. AT THE POINT I RPTED I WAS CONDEMNED BY THE CTLR FOR BEING CLOSER THAN MY 5 MI OUT RPTING POINT. I WAS ALSO STILL AT MY 'CRUISING' ALT OF 3500 FT AND HAD TO DSND RAPIDLY. I SLOWED TO 120 TO DROP THE GEAR; DID MY GUMPS AND PUT IN 20 DEG OF FLAPS. ON APCH I REALIZED MY THROTTLE AND MANIFOLD PRESSURE WERE MUCH LOWER THAN A NORMAL APCH. JUST BEFORE THE RWY AS I WAS ABOUT TO DO MY FINAL GUMPS CHK THE TWR CALLED 'CHK GEAR POS'. THEY WERE UP. INSTEAD OF ATTEMPTING A LNDG I INSTITUTED AN IMMEDIATE GAR. I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE CAUGHT THE PROBLEM IN MY FINAL GUMPS CHK; BUT IN THIS CASE THE TWR CTLR DID AN EXCELLENT JOB. HE MAY HAVE PREVENTED A GEAR UP LNDG. BUT IN ANY CASE IT WAS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF PLT AND TWR WORKING TOGETHER.