Planning...how long?
Scooter - I'm not one for slanging matches, so maybe I'll just try & explain where I'm coming from.
Sure, 3 for 1 for the average VFR navex is OTT, but how long should the entire pre-flight process be? This might start days before with the first checks on the weather for someone not flying everyday. Call it the "thinking time" about a flight if you like. I'd reckon it still should amount to a couple of hours.
Sure, check the essentials (notam, wx, airframe) & blast off in the blue yonder. I've done it - what does it take, 20 mins?
There are places where PPR is not even a concept & landing fees never play a part in decision-making, but......we're talking about SE England.
Take WW-Denham, say for the average PPL, low on hours or flying once a month. Doesn't need 3 hours of head-down swotting, but if you're gonna be operating within 2 or 3 miles of the LHR CTA I don't care who you are, unless you fly it everyday, I personally think 15 mins on GE is a good investment. And yes, I'd have a 1:250K on me too....
DD - Sure, 1:500's have their place...especially, if covering ground fast & in straight lines, but they are missing a hell of a lot of useful information.
If you ask me, students get confused by 1:250K's because they're not taught to use them properly. What you're describing is reading "map to ground", an unfortunate habit picked up from wandering around on the surface for too long. In the air, the opposite what's going to get them out of trouble. If they've been taught that properly, then the 1:250K becomes a wealth of information rather than a mass of incomprehensible squiggles.
Fuji - Yes, GPS's can show delay. I've seen it on the ground & a few weeks ago, for the first time, in the air.
Don't ask me for the reason behind it, but imagine it's to do with poor satellite capture or a problem with the unit itself. I'm not an electrical engineer.
Cheers
BFA