Looking out of the window while VFR?

[VOD80]

Good discussion!

This is an interesting discussion.

Pilot DAR, I'd fly with you any day (if you'd have me! )

My own limited flying experience, but based also on a bit of sailing and a lot of desert driving suggests that GPS allows people to set off without carrying out as much preparation, and to also continue beyond when they would have normally given up.

To answer Max (What Next), I would say that CFIT and continued flight into IMC are more symptoms than problems. GPS cannot cure these issues. The problem for the CFIT accidents in the report are lack of situational awareness caused by concentrating on the GPS, the accidents in IMC are an over confidence in a partial situational awareness (horizontal plane) caused by an implicit confidence in something shown on a screen, while lacking the vertical aspect.

Perhaps the moving map needs to be removed from the GPS and replaced with a ruler. You do all your flight planning on charts and as you are carrying it out, the GPS watches you. When you get close to controlled airspace, it gives you a prod, if you infringe, you get a smack on the back of your hand.

Cheers,

Tony