ACFT ENTERED CTLED AIRSPACE WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative

I DEPARTED CHINO ARPT ABOUT 1 HR AFTER SUNSET. MY DEST WAS SANTA MONICA AND I WAS FLYING A RENTED PIPER WARRIOR. I PLANNED TO FLY VIA POMONA VOR AND EL MONTE; BEFORE DSNDING UNDER THE CLASS B AIRSPACE AT DODGER STADIUM AND STRAIGHT INTO SANTA MONICA. AS ALWAYS; I PLANNED TO MAKE THIS TRIP VFR WITH FLT FOLLOWING FROM SOCAL. I HAD WITH ME A CURRENT CHART OF THE LOS ANGELES TERMINAL AREA; AND A HANDHELD GPS RECEIVER THAT A FRIEND HAD LENT ME JUST BEFORE I DEPARTED FROM CHINO. I ALSO HAD 2 WORKING FLASHLIGHTS. IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEPARTING CHINO; I HEADED ON COURSE FOR POMONA VOR. I REQUESTED AND WAS GRANTED A FREQ CHANGE BY THE CHINO TWR CTLR. I SWITCHED TO THE SOCAL FREQ FOR THAT AREA; AND BROADCAST MY TAIL NUMBER AND POS TO THE CTLR. ALTHOUGH I COULD HEAR THE CTLR (WHO DID NOT SEEM TO BE BUSY) HE DID NOT RESPOND TO MY MULTIPLE REQUESTS IN ANY WAY. SUSPECTING A BAD RADIO (I WAS FLYING A RENTAL AND HAD NOTICED THAT 1 RADIO WAS WEAK EARLIER THAT DAY); I CHANGED RADIOS AND REPEATED MY CALL A NUMBER OF TIMES; STILL WITH NO RESPONSE. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME; THE BULB IN MY FLASHLIGHT BURNED OUT AND IT TOOK ME A FEW SECONDS TO FIND MY SPARE. COMPOUNDING MY UNEXPECTED DIFFICULTIES; I DISCOVERED THAT THE GPS RECEIVER WAS DISPLAYING SOME VERY UNFAMILIAR INFO ABOUT THE SURROUNDING AIRSPACE. FOR A FEW MORE SECONDS I TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO LOCATE MYSELF ON THE GPS BEFORE TURNING BACK TO MY VFR CHART. AT THIS POINT I REALIZED THAT I HAD CLBED INADVERTENTLY INTO THE OUTER RING OF ONT'S CLASS C AIRSPACE. I DSNDED RAPIDLY BELOW 2700 FT; OUT OF THE CLASS C; BEFORE TURNING 180 DEGS; INTENDING TO RETURN TO CHINO TO SOLVE THE MANY PROBS THAT WERE COMPOUNDING THEMSELVES; RAPIDLY THREATENING TO TURN THE SIT INTO A DANGEROUS ONE. AROUND THIS TIME I NOTICED THAT I WAS STILL SQUAWKING THE DISCRETE CODE ASSIGNED TO ME BY THE CTLR ON MY WAY INTO CHINO. I RETURNED THE SQUAWK CODE TO 1200. I NOW TRIED SOCAL ONCE AGAIN; AND THIS TIME RECEIVED A RESPONSE. I RETURNED TO MY ON COURSE HDG TO POMONA VOR AND CLBED TO MY SELECTED ALT OF 4500 FT. THE CTLR THEN ADVISED THAT I HAD INCURRED INTO THE CLASS D AIRSPACE OF BRACKETT AND SHE REQUESTED THAT I TELEPHONE THE ARPT MGR UPON MY ARR IN SANTA MONICA (WHICH I DID). THE SIT WAS CAUSED BY ALL OF THE PROBS DETAILED ABOVE; EACH IN ITSELF NOT SERIOUS; BUT WHICH BECAME TEMPORARILY OVERWHELMING WHEN COMPOUNDED TOGETHER IN THE FEW SHORT MINS I HAD BEFORE THE INCURSION OCCURRED. THE SIT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE CTLR HAD RESPONDED TO MY CALLS; EITHER WITH MY TAIL NUMBER (AS EXPECTED); OR EVEN IF THAT RESPONSE HAD BEEN TO ASK ME TO WAIT; CALL BACK LATER; OR SOMETHING SIMILAR. THE SIT COULD ALSO HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF I HAD CONSIDERED BEFORE THE FLT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE CTLR MIGHT NOT RESPOND TO ME; AS IS HIS PREROGATIVE IN SUCH A SIT. I HAVE ALREADY REVIEWED THE COMPLICATED AIRSPACE IN THE LOS ANGELES BASIN; AND; IN FUTURE FLTS; I INTEND TO FLT PLAN ON THE GND FOR ALL POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.