Newsflash: It doesn't have to be one or the other. If you have half a brain, you can integrate good old fashioned flying skills with useful technology.
That's exactly what I'm trying to get across here. Doesn't matter how many iPads I have, at the end of the day I am flying VFR. And why everyone seems to think that I will be staring down on a GPS and flying by instruments, I really don't know.
I am very very annoyed that my thread has turned into an argument about whether an iPad should be used or not. This was never the purpose of this thread.
For the record, I know plenty of IR guys that will keep me straight with not doing anything silly with instruments. And getting to know them early is a good idea. I am not saying I will be using approach plates to land C152! Just getting the basics.
And for those of you who still insist that I will waste my time, I will make sure I do a lot of proper VFR cross-country work. 80 hours is quite a bit - I will try to integrate some emergency procedures, VFR flight planning, and some basic instrument stuff in there. And I am not asking for advice here right now.
I would fly, VFR across the country and back...from the west coast to the east coast...all that cross country time will come in handy leading to both commercial and atp.
I would look out the window and see how things look...the patterns of the midwest, the mountains of the west the gross congestion of the east...stuff like that will help you when things aren't so electronic.
As I said a couple of times now, this will not go to waste, and I am not stupid enough to think that I shouldn't bother with this.