A C172 PVT PLT ENTERS THE CLASS D AIRSPACE OF FALCON FIELD THINKING HE WAS ON THE APCH TO SCOTTSDALE ARPT; SDL; 2 MI NE OF FFZ; AZ.

Narrative

I HAD TAKEN 2 FRIENDS UP FOR AN AERIAL TOUR OF PHOENIX. AFTER DEPARTING SDL; I HEADED W AND THEN N. I THEN TURNED E PLANNING TO APCH SDL FROM THE NE SINCE RWY 21 WAS IN USE. WHILE TURNING TO THE S TO LOOK FOR A PEAK THAT WAS A POPULAR RPTING POINT; ONE OF THE PAX BECAME ILL. I WAS DISTR WITH THIS SIT FOR A COUPLE OF MINS. WHEN EVERYTHING SETTLED DOWN; I WENT BACK TO SEARCHING FOR MY PEAK. I FOUND THE PEAK AND BEYOND IT WAS THE ARPT; RIGHT WHERE IT SHOULD BE. I CONTACTED TWR AND THEY CLRED ME STRAIGHT IN. WHEN I CALLED A 2 MI FINAL; TWR REMARKED THEY STILL DIDN'T HAVE ME IN SIGHT. I THEN REALIZED THAT THE RWY I WAS SET UP TO LAND ON WAS RWY 22; NOT RWY 21! I IMMEDIATELY ADDED PWR AND CHKED FOR ACFT TO MY L. I DID A CLBING L TURN UNTIL HEADED AWAY FROM WHAT I NOW REALIZED WAS FFZ -- AN ARPT ABOUT 10 MI S OF SDL. THERE WAS ONLY 1 ACFT IN THE PATTERN AT FFZ AND THEY WERE AT THE OTHER END OF THE FIELD TURNING XWIND AND NO FACTOR. I SHOULD HAVE CALLED FALCON TWR AND EXPLAINED MY PRESENCE; BUT I WAS TOO FLUSTERED AND EMBARRASSED. I RETURNED TO THE N AND FOUND THE ORIGINAL PEAK I WANTED; CALLED SDL TWR AGAIN AND THIS TIME LANDED AT THE CORRECT ARPT. I BELIEVE THE FOREMOST CAUSE OF THIS SIT WAS MY UNFAMILIARITY WITH THE AREA. THIS; COMBINED WITH THE PAX DISTR AND THE FACT THAT I HAD JUST FINISHED MY INST RATING AND HAD NOT DONE ANY VFR PILOTAGE IN OVER A YR WOULD BE THE MAIN CAUSES. TO PREVENT THIS SIT FROM EVER OCCURRING AGAIN; I HAVE VOWED TO MYSELF TO ALWAYS VERIFY MY POS WITH MAJOR LANDMARKS AND/OR VOR RADIALS WHEN AVAILABLE WHEN I AM JUST SIGHTSEEING WITHOUT A FLT PLAN.