STUDENT PLT DURING SOLO LCL AREA PRACTICE INADVERTENTLY FLEW INTO CLASS B AIRSPACE WITHIN 5 MI OF THE CLASS B AIRSPACE ARPT.

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PREPARING FOR MY PVT PLT CHKRIDE; I TOOK OFF SOLO FROM HEF AT XX38 PM LCL TIME TO PRACTICE STEEP TURNS IN THE LCL PRACTICE AREA WSW OF THE AIRFIELD. FOLLOWING PRACTICE; I TOOK A HDG OF 170 DEGS; PLANNING TO FIND THE RAILROAD TRACK AND FOLLOW IT NE BACK TO HEF. ALONG THE WAY; I EXECUTED 2 PWR-ON AND 2 PWR-OFF STALLS AT ALT; AND DSNDED TO 2000 FT MSL TO POST S-TURNS ACROSS A STRAIGHT ROAD. AFTER TURNING 4 S-TURNS TRACKING BASICALLY NE; I LOCATED A RAILROAD TRACK AND TURNED NE TO FOLLOW IT BACK TO HEF. I DIALED IN THE CASANOVA VOR; CHKED THE VOR MORSE CODE IDENT AGAINST MY CHART; AND CTRED THE NEEDLE WITH A FROM INDICATION AT 120 DEGS. I UNDERSTOOD FROM THIS INDICATION THAT I WAS; AS EXPECTED; SLIGHTLY SE OF THE VOR. AT WHAT I JUDGED TO BE 15 MI FROM THE AIRFIELD; BASED ON SIGHTING A CLRED AREA AT ABOUT THE CORRECT LOCATION OFF THE NOSE; I MONITORED HEF ATIS AND RETUNED MY COM RADIO TO HEF TWR. I IMMEDIATELY NOTED THAT THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE TFC IN THE PATTERN AT HEF; AND THAT THE CTLR ON DUTY SEEMED TO HAVE HIS HANDS FULL. I DECIDED TO WAIT A FEW MINS UNTIL THINGS CALMED DOWN IN THE PATTERN. AT ABOUT THIS TIME; I FLEW AT AN ALT OF 2000 FT MSL OVER A PROMINENT INTXN OF 2 4-LANE HWYS. I DECIDED TO CIRCLE OVER THIS INTXN; CLRED THE AREA AND STARTED TO DO SO. AS I CIRCLED; I LOOKED AT MY TERMINAL AREA CHART; TRYING TO IDENT THIS INTXN; BUT I WAS UNCERTAIN THAT I HAD FOUND IT. I CIRCLED THIS INTXN FOR ABOUT 5 MINS WHILE VARIOUS ACFT ARRIVED AND DEPARTED THE PATTERN AT HEF. WHEN TFC IN THE HEF PATTERN APPEARED TO THIN; I CONTACTED HEF TWR; ANNOUNCED THAT I WAS ABOUT 12 MI SW INBOUND FOR LNDG WITH THE ATIS. I WAS INSTRUCTED TO RPT A WIDE L BASE FOR RWY 34R; I READ BACK AND STARTED IN. I FOLLOWED THE RAILROAD TRACK GENERALLY TO A LARGE CLRED AREA WHICH WAS EVIDENTLY AN ARPT. THE RAILROAD TRACK APPEARED TO VEER OFF DURING THE LAST FEW MI IN AN UNFAMILIAR DIRECTION; BUT I ATTRIBUTED MY DISCOMFORT TO MY OWN POOR MEMORY. I RPTED 4 MI OUT ON WIDE L BASE FOR RWY 34R AND WAS CLRED #2 BEHIND AN ACFT WHICH I DID NOT HAVE IN SIGHT. I RPTED NEGATIVE CONTACT; AND AFTER A MIN OR SO; I WAS CLRED TO LAND ON RWY 34R. AS I TURNED FROM BASE TO FINAL; I FINALLY REALIZED THAT THE ARPT I HAD LINED UP ON WAS NOT HEF. A GLANCE AT THE DIRECTIONAL GYROSCOPE SHOWED THAT THE PARALLEL RWYS APPEARED TO BE ORIENTED ALMOST DIRECTLY N-S; AND THE ARPT SEEMED VERY LARGE. I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED HEF TWR; CONFESSED THAT I HAD LOST MY BEARINGS AND LINED UP ON THE WRONG ARPT; THAT I WAS OVER A POPULATED AREA; AND THAT I INTENDED TO CLB FOR A BETTER LOOK. HEF CANCELED MY LNDG CLRNC AND INSTRUCTED ME TO CONTACT THEM AS NECESSARY. AS I CLBED TO 4000 FT MSL; ANOTHER ACFT MONITORING THE CHANNEL AND COMMUNICATING WITH HEF TWR INVITED ME TO DIAL IN THE ARMEL VOR. I DID SO; AND CTRED THE NEEDLE WITH A TO TAG AT ZERO DEGS. THIS PRETTY MUCH CONFIRMED THAT THE ARPT I WAS LOOKING AT ABOUT 5 MI AWAY WAS DULLES INTL. I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED HEF TWR; REQUESTED FREQ CHANGE; CONTACTED IAD APCH ON 124.65 AND REQUESTED VECTORS TO HEF. DIALING IN THE ASSIGNED XPONDER CODE CONFIRMED THAT I HAD ENTERED IAD CLASS B AIRSPACE WITHOUT CLRNC. I WAS IMMEDIATELY VECTORED S; E AND DOWN TO CLR THE CLASS B AND RETURN TO HEF. I LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT AT HEF AND CONTACTED THE TWR SUPVR AT IAD AS REQUESTED. OF THE MOST IMPORTANT: FIRST; I FAILED TO CONSIDER; AND CONSEQUENTLY DID NOT CONFIRM; THE EFFECT THE FORECAST WINDS ALOFT WOULD HAVE ON MY POS AS I PRACTICED STEEP TURNS IN THE PRACTICE AREA. IN RETROSPECT; IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT I DRIFTED QUITE FAR ENE WITHOUT REALIZING IT. SECOND; I DID NOT CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS OF MY INABILITY TO IDENT A PROMINENT INTXN ON MY TERMINAL AREA CHART. IN RETROSPECT; IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT I TURNED CIRCLES OVER AN INTXN OF RTE 66 AND 29; EITHER 5 MI DUE N OF HEF OR 7 MI TO THE NW; BOTH WITHIN THE SECOND RING OF THE IAD CLASS B. THE TRUTH IS; I NEVER LOOKED CAREFULLY AT THE AREA OF THE CHART N OF HEF; BECAUSE AT THE TIME I WAS PRETTY SURE I WAS S OF HEF AND; PROBABLYMORE IMPORTANTLY; I REALLY WANTED TO BE S OF HEF. THIRD; I DID NOT ATTEMPT TO IDENT ANY OTHER PROMINENT LANDMARKS. GIVEN MY FRAME OF MIND THEN; THE ATTEMPT MIGHT ONLY HAVE RESULTED IN MORE CONFUSION. AS I SAID; I REALLY WANTED TO BE S OF HEF. FOURTH; EVEN THOUGH I WAS UNCOMFORTABLE AT NOT BEING ABLE TO IDENT MY PROMINENT INTXN AND MY POS ON THE CHART; I DID NOT CONTACT IAD APCH OR ANY OTHER RADAR FACILITY TO REQUEST VECTORS TO HEF. INSTEAD; I CHKED BY POS RELATIVE TO THE CASANOVA VOR; AND DETERMINED THAT I WAS ON THE 090 DEG RADIAL FROM THE VOR. I CANNOT EXPLAIN THIS RESULT; WHICH IN RETROSPECT WAS CLRLY WRONG.