UNAUTH PENETRATION OF AIRSPACE. LTSS. PLT WAS DISTR BY ACFT EQUIP WHILE HIS FELLOW PLT FLIES INTO A TCA AND NEAR ACR ACFT.

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FLYING VFR FROM ROCKFORD; IL; TO ELKHART; IN; AT 3500 FT; WE HAD PLANNED TO FLY DIRECT TO DUPAGE VOR STAYING BELOW THE CHICAGO TCA THEN TO CHICAGO HEIGHTS VOR THEN TO EKM. I WAS THE PIC; BUT I WAS LETTING ANOTHER PLT FLY THE PLANE WHILE I OBSERVED. SOMETIME BEFORE WE GOT TO DUPAGE I WAS TRYING TO GET ANOTHER RADIO TO WORK (A LORAN) WHILE THE OTHER PLT FLEW AND NAVED; NOT WATCHING HIM AS CLOSE AS I SHOULD HAVE WE SOON GOT OFF COURSE. BY THE TIME I REALIZED HOW FAR OFF COURSE WE WERE; IT WAS TOO LATE. WE WERE COMMUNICATING WITH ORD APCH AT THE TIME AND AS WE GOT CLOSER TO DUPAGE THEY SWITCHED US TO DUPAGE TWR ASSUMING WE WERE GOING TO LAND AT DUPAGE. HOWEVER; WE DID NOT TELL THEM WE WERE LNDG THERE; WE WERE JUST TRANSITING THROUGH THE AREA. THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION AT THIS POINT SO THEY SWITCHED US BACK TO APCH CTL WHO TOLD US WE WERE ENTERING THE TCA WITHOUT PERMISSION. THEY THEN BEGAN TO VECTOR US AND ASSIGNED A LOWER ALT TO STAY CLR OF THE TCA. THE CTLRS HAD 2 AIRLINERS COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR CLOSE PROX. I DID SEE ONE WHICH IN MY ESTIMATION WAS APPROX 1-2 MI AWAY. (THIS WAS BEFORE ENTERING TCA.) I WAS TOLD TO PHONE THEIR SUPVR WHEN WE ARRIVED IN ELKHART WHICH I DID. THE SUPVR TOLD ME THAT NORMALLY THERE WOULD ONLY BE A VERBAL WARNING; BUT SINCE THE AIRLINES COMPLAINED. HE WOULD HAVE TO RPT ME TO THE LCL FSDO (SOUTH BEND). HE ASKED FOR AND RECEIVED MY NAME; ADDRESS AND CERTIFICATE NUMBER. AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE MAP WE STRAYED MUCH TOO FAR OFF COURSE. I THINK THERE WERE 3 THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS SIT. 1) INTENDING TO FLY TOO CLOSE TO THE TCA JUST TO SAVE TIME. 2) NOT WATCHING AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE OTHER PLT AS CLOSE AS I SHOULD HAVE. 3) THE CTLR'S CONFUSION ABOUT OUR DEST AND NOT ASKING US. I PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN I WILL FILE AN IFR FLT PLAN OR FLY MUCH; MUCH FARTHER AROUND THE TCA.