"the problem with having a radar that only looks forward is that you can only do night/IMC letdowns to cliffs/boats etc that are ahead of you. Try doing a letdown into a bay with a 40kt onshore wind"
Crab, we do all of the above with a forward looking radar and have been doing so for many years without any problem. Just because the rest of the world doesn't have the Military 360 radar (ARI 5955?) doesn't mean there is only one way to skin a cat.
Kind regards
mustfly1