I'm a student PPL about to do my QXC weather and time permitting <img src="frown.gif" border="0"> so far I've done three solo nav. flights, all which went as well as could be expected. On each occasion before I fly a XC one of the questions my instructor asks is :
"What will you do if you think you are getting lost?"
I have written down some things I could do to find out where I am and I have that with me in the aircraft. Some things I can do :
Figure out where I last knew where I was, know what direction I took and for how long. Then I know where I am to within 5 miles, probably less.
Look outside the aircraft for big, familiar landmarks, e.g. Greenham Common runway, Didcot Power station, Isle of Wight. It might sound silly but at one point I was "unsure of my position" three miles from Greenham Common in pretty good vis. I felt very silly when it was pointed out to me.
Find position with VORs/DMEs. My chinagraph pencils all have 1:500000 scales on their side and I know my thumb is 10nm/6min long.
Find position by asking for "True Bearing" or "training fix". ATC will (almost) always do their best to help.
Find position by switching to 121.5 and asking for training fix. On every solo nav flight I've done I do this for practice as I fly over a waypoint I'm familiar with.
And if I fail my QXC I won't worry - it's just another flight to enjoy, learn from and do again.
--Mik