All,
I have to admit, I'm one of those who can't understand what the problem is with map and clock navigation. It must be pointed out that my rather bold statement is born only from flying in this country. I imagine that GPS is fine (then again that depends, see my comment on the Drug Smuggling thread), but surely one must feel totally able to operate without aids.
Sul,
I agree with scubawasp: "clock, map then ground". I certainly don't agree that it is an act of faith, as this is the only method where, if you are off track you can quantify the error and decide if it was bad flying or a non-forcast wind that cause the problem. Both are easily rectifiable. It basically boils down to not starting the map to ground fixing process until you are within 3 mins of the feature. It works and naturally allows plenty of time for other tasks like looking out, R/T, etc.
It is important for a newbie is to pick things that stand out in preference to how far along the route the feature is. The one feature that can cause confusion is the hamlets (small yellow circle on the map) as they are not all on the chart!
The only reason to go from ground to map, is when you are uncertain of your position. All part of the learning process and in my view is probably inevitible on occasion. Its no big deal when it happens, and the cause could be choosing inappropriate features to navigate by or flying the wrong driection (gross error or DI out of sync). Don't be afraid to orbit and give yourself time to figure things out before proceeding in possibly, completely the wrong direction (or compounding whatever, the error you made was to cause the large devation from the intended track).
One essential tip is always orientate your map with the direction in which you are travelling. If you don't, it will catch you out sooner or later.
The other thing I've noticed with experience, is that I didn't really use all the features of the chart fully for quite sometime. Not sure why, just a case of being better able to orientate my surroundings to the chart. Regardless, I now find it much easier establishing fixes based on terrain, woods, etc.
Yes, it is a slow work day today
