C550 CREW ENTERS WRONG SPELLING OF INTXN NAME AND GOES OFF COURSE.

Narrative

WE WERE DEPARTING THE REPUBLIC ARPT IN THE NYC AREA. TURNED TO 010 DEGS AND WAS SWITCHED TO ATC. AT SOME POINT IN THE CLB; WE WERE CLRED TO THE GAYEL INTXN. AS WE WERE CLBING OUT; WE REALIZED THE INTXN DISTANCE SEEMED TOO FAR AWAY. ABOUT THE SAME TIME; THE CTLR CALLED AND ASKED US TO CHK THE SPELLING ON OUR WAYPOINT. IT TURNS OUT WE ENTERED GAYLE WHICH IS ON A SIMILAR HDG; BUT AT A MUCH FARTHER DISTANCE. WE CORRECTED THE SITUATION; MADE A COURSE CORRECTION AND CONTINUED ON AFTER THANKING THE CTLR FOR NOTICING THE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT HDG. I VAGUELY REMEMBERED THE CTLR INDICATING THAT THIS HAPPENED FROM TIME TO TIME WITH THIS INTXN NAME. LOOKING AT A MAP OF NYC; I THINK IT WOULD BE EASY TO DRIFT INTO PROTECTED AIRSPACE IF WE HAD BEEN GIVEN A TURN FROM 010 DEGS EARLIER THAN WE WERE OR HAD WE CONTINUED ON THE INCORRECT FOR MUCH LONGER. EVEN THOUGH THE HDG CHANGES ARE MINIMAL; NYC AIRSPACE IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO BE OFF COURSE. LUCKY FOR US THAT THE CTLR IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED OUR ERROR. WHILE ENTERING THE FLT PLAN; WE SHOULD HAVE RECHKED THE SPELLING; WAYPOINT DISTANCES; AND AIRWAY CONNECTIONS USING VARIOUS FMS DATA AND GRAPHIC TOOLS. I WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE MORE CAREFUL TO CHK ENTRY OF FLT PLANS IN THE FUTURE. ON THE OTHER HAND; THIS INTXN IS PHONETICALLY SIMILAR AS WELL AS NEAR IDENTICAL SPELLING. I THINK THE SYS LENDS US TO ERROR. I RECOMMEND ONE OF THE INTXNS BE RENAMED TO ENSURE THIS DOES NOT CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. IF I UNDERSTOOD THE CTLR CORRECTLY; IT HAS APPARENTLY HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE.