C172 STUDENT PLT ENTERED DC ADIZ WITHOUT CLRNC OR A DISCRETE XPONDER CODE. THE STUDENT PLT WAS INTERCEPTED BY A CUSTOMS HELI.

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DURING MY LONG SOLO XCOUNTRY FROM SHD TO CJR; I THOUGHT TO FOLLOW THE N SIDE OF INTERSTATE 29; WHICH SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ME DIRECT TO CULPEPER. HOWEVER; MY GND SPD WAS ABOVE ESTIMATED AND I DID NOT REALIZE THAT I HAD ALREADY PASSED THE ARPT. I ASSUME THAT I CONTINUED TO FOLLOW INTERSTATE 29 AND FOLLOWED ANOTHER INTERSTATE N. I REALIZED I WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE BY THIS TIME. I TUNED INTO CASANOVA VOR; FOLLOWING TO THE STATION AT 180 DEGS FOR ABOUT 10-15 MI. THEN; DIRECT S TO CULPEPER ARPT; WHERE I WAS XMITTING THE ARPT FREQ; CALLING MY LEGS. MY OTHER COM WAS RECEIVING ON LEESBURG APCH; THE APCH CTL THAT I ACTIVATED MY FLT PLAN ON FROM SHD TO CJR. AFTER I LANDED CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN A HUGE HELI ESCORTED ME INSIDE. I CLOSED MY FLT PLAN THERE. I WAS SQUAWKING 1200 DURING MY FLT. I WAS TUNED INTO THE VOR CASANOVA AS WELL IF APCH CTL WISHED TO CONTACT ME. I APOLOGIZE FOR MY ACTIONS. I ASSURE YOU THAT ENTERING THE ADIZ OR CLASS B AIRSPACE WAS THE LAST THING I WANTED TO DO. THIS IS WHY I DID NOT FILE AN ADIZ FLT PLAN. ON MY WAY BACK TO MY HOME BASE AT MRB; I USED LINDEN VOR AND MADE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT I STEERED CLR OF THE MODE C VEIL; BECAUSE I KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THE RULES IMPLEMENTED; ESPECIALLY AFTER SEP/TUE. NEXT TIME; I WILL USE BETTER PLANNING METHODS AS I AM MORE FAMILIAR WITH C172'S. I WILL ALSO PROBABLY NEVER COME NEAR CLASS B AIRSPACE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. COM IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND THIS EXPERIENCE REINFORCED MY ALREADY CAUTIOUS VIEW OF NATIONAL SECURITY. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.