VOD80 - you seem to have gone into rant mode. No one has said that GPS is a required item for flight. However, there are a lot of items that are not
required but would still be good airmanship to have (for instance more fuel than minimums, spare pencils, a second time piece, etc.) Many people have argued that in today's world a GPS is a very cheap piece of highly functional equipment.
To your list
Originally Posted by
VOD80
- It’s a tool that could aid in VFR navigation (here “aid” in the sense of back-up to non-electronic means)
- It’s a tool that could aid in maintaining situational awareness in the airspace that we use
- It’s a tool that could broaden the operational envelop for VFR pilots (reduced visibility, snow covered terrain, featureless terrain…) – but what happens if GPS is lost while in that situation? A little bit like sending babies swimming with armbands. Great while they stay on but what happens if they come off? If the pilot’s not good enough to go without GPS…
Does VFR GPS give all of this for free?
You are being grossly biased (or wilfully distorting what people are saying). GPS is a tool that is highly effective at aiding navigation (of all types), maintaining situational awareness and increasing the operational envelop.
You are right that it
could be mis-employed to degrade safety margins. But the same can be said of all tools - even the most basic tool we all have in our SEP VFR machines (the engine - a cantankerous bit of kit that could fail, reduces the precision of our flying, and as our long distance glider cousins remind us - isn't actually necessary for flying!).
We can all dig out examples of pilots who have used GPS badly. However, it is unfortunate quite easy to dig out examples of pilots that have come to grief or been near misses with air carriers that were using traditional navigation.
Like all of us - as you pick up flying again, you can choose the tools and processes you want to use. Quite a lot of sage advice says, 'don't look down your nose at GPS - it is a great tool. But do spend some time learning to use it.
In addition, if you have been out of the frame for 10 years, you might want to look at some of the new fangled technology for getting NOTAMs, weather, filing flight plans (if you ever leave your country), and contacting airfields.
Note - mobile phones are not
required equipment for VFR flight - but I think it is bad airmanship to purposefully head off on a flight without one - who knows, you might even want to book a table at the local pub as you are walking to it after a precautionary landing (due to temporary disorientation and unexpected weather)
