Thread drift, yes, I've been guilty of one or two but why are pilots required to train on a piece of kit that they will rarely use - VOR? I understand an ILS approach, I understand a NDB approach, but really isn't this all old school.
It is something I cannot fathom, do a PIR and you can dispense with all the rubbish. There are PIR pilots that will NEVER fly a VOR or ILS, let alone an NDB. They will NEVER circle (a known cause of accidents), but do an IR and it's back to the ridiculous outdated rule set.
Is it a case of "I had to do it, so you have to do it too"? Is it a rite of passage that marks entrance or acceptance into a group or society, in this case a pilot fraternity?
I'm sure there's an element of this.
Why not RNP or GLS approaches?
Exactly.
Could an entrepreneur make a $ by setting up an VOR in a paddock and charging for use? Same for a NDB? ILS might be a bit expensive if AUSCAL needed to fly it flight test every 3 months but if the minima was pretty high, or the approach was practiced from 5000ft to 2000ft then accuracy should be must of a problem.
Funny you should mention that, it's happening at AV and EN now. But it's still funnelling multiple aircraft into these navaids, there's not enough of them for an outdated training system that matches an outdated airspace system.