Also I do wish they could navigate better. It's not that difficult, surely, in VMC?
Roy
I know where you are coming from and since I got my licence in the early 90s I have never bust CAS and only used a training fix once when I couldn't see a waypoint due haze and was aware that I was near the edge of the EGSS zone.
But if you put a SPL or low hour PPL in some of the rubbish that is out there for hire and then let them make their way around SE England using only a stop watch and chart, with every more complex CAS, it is almost inevitable that some will get lost.
I think it is difficult to navigate in VMC for low houred pilots and I believe that the PPL syllabus is inadequate for the 2000s, where there is more CAT and controlled airspace.
I was taught VOR tracking on my PPL and then consolidated that afterwards, before embracing GPS too and learning how to operate that properly.
It is quite dodgy to over rely on any one nav system and I believe that the PPL syllabus should be revised to introduce GPS to back up ded reckoning and pilotage - the latter which can be challenging from 2,000 feet on a hazy day.
I do understand the CAT frustration with the impact of training fixes and pans.