Cheers for all the helpful advice guys n girls, much food for thought.
My problem is that i dont get flying nearly as much as id like (study commitments) and so it will take a long time to accrue that sort of experience. I do have a GPS (a really good 296) but my main aim is to hone my basic nav skills first and then use it as a backup.
My radio nav is fine; i can get a position fix fine, and even without it I can usually determine my position on a chart visually (let's just forget about the gft fiasco! i have improved a bit since then).
I suppose it is a case of practice makes perfect, and im quite interested in the idea of building hours with other newly minted ppls.
Anybody sherburn based in the same boat??
Many thanks
ETC