STUDENT PLT ON HIS SECOND SOLO XCOUNTRY GETS LOST AND MAY HAVE ENTERED CLASS C AIRSPACE WHILE DETERMINING HIS POS.

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I; A STUDENT PLT; WAS MAKING MY SECOND XCOUNTRY FLT. AT UIN; I CLOSED MY FLT PLAN AND CHKED THE WX ON THE FBO COMPUTER FOR ANY CHANGES. AFTER WHICH; I FILED MY RETURN PLAN. THE RETURN COURSE WAS 143 DEGS WITH ALL CORRECTIONS CALCULATED AND A FLT ALT OF 5500 FT. THE ACFT IS EQUIPPED WITH 2 VORS THAT WERE BEING USED TO VERIFY THE CROSSOVER POINT OF MY CHKPOINTS. THOUGH THE ACFT DOES HAVE A GPS; THAT WAS TURNED OFF FOR THE FLT. THE FIRST 2 CHKPOINTS WERE CONFIRMED AGAINST THE SECTIONAL AND VERIFIED WITH THE VORS. ON THE WAY TO THE THIRD CHKPOINT; THERE WAS ANOTHER LANDMARK ABOUT 1/3 OF THE WAY THAT I WANTED TO LOCATE. AT THAT POINT; I NOTICED MY VORS WERE NO LONGER RECEIVING A RELIABLE SIGNAL AND I WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE THIS OTHER LANDMARK. WITHOUT REALIZING IT; I WAS BEING BLOWN OFF COURSE. I LATER FOUND THE WINDS INCREASED FROM 20-30 KTS. WHILE MAINTAINING MY ALT; STARTED NOTICING THE LANDSCAPE WAS CHANGING. I VERIFIED MY DIRECTIONAL GYRO WITH THE COMPASS AND FOUND THEM DIFFERENT. I REALIGNED THE DIRECTIONAL GYRO TO THE COMPASS AND BEFORE I KNEW IT; I DETERMINED I WAS LOST. AFTER UNSUCCESSFULLY TRYING TO GET THE VORS TUNED IN TO GET A FIX ON MY LOCATION; I FOUND 2 COAL FIRE POWERPLANTS. I DROPPED DOWN TO AROUND 2000 FT AFTER PASSING OVER THE POWERPLANTS TO SEE IF I COULD MAKE OUT ANYTHING THAT WOULD AID ME IN LOCATING MY POS. DURING THIS TIME; I THOUGHT I SPOTTED THE ILLINOIS STATE CAPITAL AND TURNED AWAY FROM THE CITY. IT WAS AT THAT POINT I COULD HAVE ENCROACHED ON SPI'S CLASS C AIRSPACE. AS ONE LAST ATTEMPT TO GET A FIX; I TURNED ON THE GPS AND PUSHED ENOUGH BUTTONS THAT THE DISPLAY SHOWED THE NEAREST ARPT. I LANDED AND MADE CALLS. I EXPLAINED MY SIT AND WAS PREPARING A NW FLT PLAN BACK TO 3SQ. I CALLED WXBRIEF FOR A BRIEFING. I CALLED BACK TO 3SQ AND TALKED TO THE FLT INSTRUCTOR WHO SIGNED OFF MY ORIGINAL FLT PLAN AND GOT A VERBAL THAT THE NEW FLT PLAN WAS GOOD. THERE WERE NO OFFICE PERSONNEL THAT KNEW IF A FAX MACHINE WAS AVAILABLE FOR THE INSTRUCTOR TO FAX AUTH TO CONTINUE THE TRIP HOME. AS A SAFETY MEASURE; I TOPPED THE FUEL TANKS (20.2 GALLONS) BEFORE HEADING OUT INTO THE STRONG HEADWINDS. THE PLANE HAS 50 GALLON CAPACITY. I SELECTED THIS RETURN COURSE TO PREVENT ANY POSSIBILITY OF BEING BLOWN INTO SPI'S AIRSPACE AND THERE WAS ONLY 1 COURSE CHANGE TO BE MADE AT TAZ. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SUN BEING IN MY EYES; THE RETURN TRIP WAS UNEVENTFUL. I USED THE DIRECTIONAL GYRO TO TAZ AND WAS WORKING WITH THE VORS AND GOT THEM OPERATING AGAIN. WHEN I MADE THE TURN AT TAX TO 3SQ; I USED THE GPS TO VERIFY THE ENTIRE LEG BACK WITH THE VOR AS BACKUP. THE LNDG WAS MADE. THERE WAS JUST ENOUGH LIGHT I COULD SEE THE RWY AS I CROSSED OVER THE FIELD AND THE RWY LIGHTS WERE JUST STARTING TO BECOME VISIBLE ON FINAL. AFTER LNDG; I CONTACTED WXBRIEF AND INFORMED THEM OF MY SAFE RETURN.