IO540, before I start, I'm not even a distant relative of DFC.
I take a slight issue with your comments about errors - accuracy of flying a heading, simple rules of thumb (which generate an error) and wind forecasts. The point I try to make when teaching student pilots is that there are a number of factors that all generate errors. It is the pilots responsibility to reduce/remove these errors wherever possible such that the errors he has no control over (notably forecast wind in this scenario) can be isolated and therefore addressed.
I agree, that in the age of GPS etc this stuff is becoming less relevant. However, it is important to instil a mindset whereby pilots analyse their own performance and strive to maintain a high standard. Alternatively, we have pilots who will rely more and more on the Magenta with little/no thought as to how things work.
PS. How does one do pre-flight fuel planning on a GPS - rule of thumb?
