LF:
I wonder why I, and many pilots plot courses to "beacon hop" when going from A to B, and have forgotten to use our dead reckoning techniques , or can't be bothered to put in loads of waypoints on our GPSs
Perhaps because (a) radio nav is much more accurate and reliable than dead reckoning/pilotage when you're flying over an area you're not familiar with and (b) we don't have a GPS or (c) we reckon that looking out of the window for the inevitable other traffic is safer than squinting into the cockpit at a tiny screen which is obscured by the glare from the sun?
I reckon well-prepared use of radio nav when flying around underneath the LTMA or any other place where there's a high risk of airspace infringement is a sound and sensible strategy. If you've planned it, plogged it and set it up properly it gives you a really solid basis from which you can use your spare resources to (a) confirm your position by ref to map and ground features and (b) look out for other traffic. When you get close to a beacon you can (a) offset a little to minimise collision risk and (b) devote most of your effort to lookout.
NS