Do I Need a GPS?
Okay here is the deal.
I am shortly about to complete my 60th hour. (For insurance purposes at my club I cannot fly solo until I have 60 hours). So I currently fly with an instructor and basically try to perfect my skills (and I must say I’m thoroughly enjoying the whole experience!).
My instructor simply sits there and offers bits and pieces of advice and reinforces what I’ve already learned.
However once I pass the magical 60 hour mark, I will be released to the skies once more on my own to explore the beautiful UK. This is coming to the crux of my question. Once I don't have an instructor with me, I will be relying on my own knowledge of the local area. Now I don't have a problem with my navigation, in fact I quite enjoy the challenge.
My weakness lies in identifying my current position in relation to an airfield , a vrp or a town. As I’m quite new to the local area (I gained my ppl at the other end of the country) when approaching a matz or an airfield, giving my rough position (which I know they don't expect to be perfect) ends up with me doing a lot of head down working out on my map.
Also to be honest I've always been against getting a GPS, they are expensive and most experienced pilots (from what I gather) tend to think they make you lazy and erode your navigation skills. But now I'm wondering if I should perhaps purchase a simple unit, which will make giving position reports and estimated times a bit easier and could also be a useful backup to check my navigation. Especially in these first 10 or 20 hours when I’m solo again and I imagine my workload will be quite high.
I am currently flying a rental aircraft (C150) so if I did purchase a GPS, where would I fit an aerial? Is it worth doing? Which one would you recommend (bearing in mind I won’t need it to be too flash as it would really only be a back up for me to double check I am where I think I am).
All opinions welcome…