UNAUTH PENETRATION OF AIRSPACE - PLT USED WRONG NAV BASE POINT AND CLBS THROUGH TCA; BUT HE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS CLR.

Narrative

I DEPARTED MORE OR LESS DUE N FROM SOMERSET ARPT VFR TO DUTCHESS COUNTY ARPT (POU) IN POUGHKEEPSIE; NY AT ABOUT XA45 PM LCL TIME ON MAR/THU/95. I HAD ALREADY EXAMINED THE NEW YORK SECTIONAL CHART AND NOTED THAT FLYING DUE N WOULD KEEP ME OUT OF THE RESTRICTED AIRSPACE OF THE NEW YORK TCA; BUT I WOULD STILL BE IN THE TCA. I DIALED IN LAGUARDIA ARPT (LGA) ON MY LORAN TO GIVE ME A ROUGH DME DISTANCE FROM LGA AND I SAW THAT MY DME DISTANCE FROM LGA REMAINED AT AROUND 29.5 TO 30 NM AS I BEGAN A CLB TO 7500 FT MSL; STILL HDG MORE OR LESS DUE N; ALONG WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE EXTREME WESTERN OR NORTHWESTERN EDGE OF THE NEW YORK TCA. WHEN I REACHED 7500 FT; I LEVELLED OFF AND SET A DIRECT COURSE FOR POU. WHEN I LANDED AT POU A FEW MINS LATER AND WAS TAXING TO A LOCAL FBO; THE TOWER CALLED OVER THE RADIO AND SAID THE NEW YORK TRACON WANTED ME TO CALL THEM AND HE GAVE ME THEIR #. THIS CARD I WROTE THE # ON WAS SUBSEQUENTLY LOST ON A FLT OVER TO CHESTER; CT A FEW MINS LATER AND I NEVER GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO CALL THE NEW YORK TRACON. I WAS QUITE PERPLEXED AND COULDN'T QUITE FIGURE OUT WHY THE NEW YORK TRACON PEOPLE WANTED TO TALK TO ME. A DAY OR SO LATER; I EXAMINED MY SECTIONAL CHART AND REALIZED THAT I SHOULD HAVE MAINTAINED A DME READING OFF OF EWR ARPT RATHER THAN LGA AND THAT BY USING LGA; I MAY HAVE INADVERTENTLY VENTURED INTO THE RESTRICTED PART OF THE NEW YORK TCA. REGARDING CAUSE AND CORRECTIVE ACTION; IT SEEMS THIS WAS A CAUSE OF MAKING AN HONEST MISTAKE; PERHAPS BECAUSE I CHOSE TO LOOK AT THE CHART IN THE LESS-RELAXED ATMOSPHERE OF THE COCKPIT RATHER THAN ON THE GND. PERHAPS I THOUGHT I WAS A BIT FURTHER N THAN I ACTUALLY WAS. THE CORRECTIVE ACTION IS SIMPLY TO REVIEW ANTICIPATED RTES OF FLT MORE THOROUGHLY.