" but I avoid relying on GPS anyway and use it instead to ensure that my pilotage, dead-rec or VOR/NDB tracking are working out ok. I do like the nav bit of flying and moving-map GPS is too easy and takes the fun out of it. "
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However there is the other side of this issue, and that is would you feel the same if you were not within receiving range of a VOR ? and as far as tracking using an ADF who in todays world uses an ADF for tracking when GPS is there for your use?
I just can not understand the reluctance of some pilots to use a modern reliable and extreemly accurate nav aid like GPS in favour of the stone age stuff like ADF, VOR and dead - rec.
Chuck E.
Chuck, I understand where you are comming from, but I think you might be being a little unfair to Mak with that comment.
I too plan each flight with a plog, headings, times etc, and use my GPS as a back up to this. Ie, when I think I should be somewhere, I try to confirm my position with regard to ground features, and then check with my gps, that I am correct.
In fairness, you have much more experience than most of us here. For many of us, we need to keep practicing our DR skills or we will lose them. You might ask why would we be botherd losing them if we have such a great things as GPS? Well, to put it simply, many of us fly with handheld gps's. I am one of them. I use a gps, connected to my pda, running pocket fms. Somethings I find that the gps will lose signal, and a quick movement of the antenna will fix it. However two occasions come to mind. One when the the pda crashed when I tried to change the flight plan, in flight, and one when for the first hour of the flight, it totally refused to pick up any satalites at all. Because I practice my dr stills, this wasn't a problem, and I still felt comfortable. However if I did not practice these skills, I imagine I would have been much more stressed.
You must remember that as a PPL without a IR nor IMC, I am forced to fly at relatively low levels most of the time, which severly restricts the range of the VOR's. It's not at all uncommon to be out of range of a VOR here, at 2000ft.
Now, please don't get me wrong. I love my gps to bits! I think it's the best piece of equipment that I ever bought, and would hate the idea of going flying without it. More than anything else I have, it reduces the workload and stress levels, and give me more time to enjoy the flight. But experience has thought me that it has failed me in the past, and it probably will again in the future. That's probably just the nature of hand held equipment. I want to make sure I have another system that I can rely on when that happens. That means I must practice my DR skills. For someone with as much experience as you do, you probably don't need to practice them......but for many of us who fly much less, we do.
dp