twisty,
The problem with calling a Practice Pan if you have a real problem is that you're gonna feel a right idiot when they tell you they can't do it as they're dealing with a real emergency, and you have to confess. <img src="eek.gif" border="0">
Aside from that, has it occurred to ANYONE that visual nav can be FUN. <img src="confused.gif" border="0"> When a friend and I did the Dawn to Dusk competition last year (in a C152, not my favoured whirly things), our whole 8-9 hours flying was a figure-of-eight course round Wales, looking for everything from small towns to single buildings to an isolated rock, in connection with our theme. GPS would have been little use, and radio navaids not much more use as there aren't any VORs etc round there. But we had a wonderful time (and won, incidentally). And the nav I did for the CPL(H) - finding isolated buildings on OS maps; horrendous under exam conditions, but great to be able to do. And necessary if you're on the London or Paris heli-routes or similar too.
I'm not suggesting everyone navigate like this all the time; it would be slightly pointless. But it's useful - and enjoyable - to be able to do it. IMHO, to suggest it's an outdated skill is to take half the fun out of flying.