I'm concerned that there seems to be an implicit assumption in this whole discussion that somehow the technology is a static thing: either you have GPS, or you don't.
IMHO nothing could be further from the truth. There have been some improvements in some paper maps over the last 3 years but the GPS of today (Skydemon/Foreflight/iPad) bears no resemblance to the GPS of 2009 (430 et al.) If anything, that trend is accelerating.
Right now, we are at a pivotal moment for VFR cross country flying because the utility of today's GPS is just exceeding that of the paper maps. The ability to zoom into detail and to see automated airspace warnings on electonic charts (that are always up to date) just exceeds the ability of paper maps to display essential information. Only just, though: some paper maps still have critical information (like bird sanctuaries) that is lacking from GPS displays.
In a short time all that will have changed, and the idea of trying to conduct a safety of life critical operation like flying a plane using a pre-printed, uncorrectable, one way resource like a paper map will seem ludicrously negligent. That transition is actually occurring right now, which is why some of us get quite worked up about it.
I've flown almost 50 Hrs in 3 continents in the last 8 weeks and have had an iPad balanced on my knee the whole time. Have I thrown away my paper maps? Not yet, because they still carry essential safety of flight information that has yet to appear on iPad. And I only carry one iPad because I have not yet reached the stage of velcroing over all those old steam gauges (like the 430!) with several more. But that day will come, and soon.
What's on offer is a way to enormously improve the utility of GA as a means of transport for a whole range of pilots who actually want to go somewhere, and to do it with almost no negative safety implications. It might be the biggest innovation in private flying since the Wright Brothers. All of us, everyone contributing here, should be behind this revolution and looking for ways to make it better, not half of us sniping at the other half.
Last edited by david viewing; 3rd July 2012 at 15:22.