I remember way back when a fresh faced 17yr old Welshman was dispatched on his QXC in a spamcan. Leg one no problem, leg two from Halfpenny Green to Shobdon - tootling inbound to Shobdon - must be within 20 miles now... where is it? Call them up with the usual speel including what I had for breakfast and sock colouration. Just as they reply my radio goes dead and I enter a ruddy great shower of rain. The knackered plexiglass windscreen becomes totally opaque as its
a) Old and knackered
b) Smeared in a summers worth of oil and bugs
So brave little Welshman ends up doing a rate one turn for a minute and then starts a small flapping exercise. Pounding the jack leads got the radio back and it turned out Shobdon was hiding just behind the rain shower.
I felt right chuffed when I got home and there were many tales of derring do that night. QXC should be a confidence builder. Therefore it needs to be a slight challenge.
I still disagree about radio nav. On the one hand if you are using it properly having been properly trained to do it then you are not developing your map nav skills. And on the other if you are attempting to use it following a cursory introduction then you are likely to mess it up and get yourself in trouble. I have seen it happen hundreds of times before. I've rarely seen two club aircraft with the same Nav fit and this often causes great difficulty even to students who were quite proficient the other day in another aircraft.
Odd new nav kit still catches me out and I really should know better by now.
Fly your heading accurately and be observant - you won't go far wrong.
WWW