I think that the doghouse is most usefull in a high workload situation, I don't discount it for any type of flying and don't use it myself on a normal basis as I just use a paper flight log.
The situation that requires this type of preparation is for low level precision navigation where you are going to spend 99.9 % of your time with your head out of the cockpit with the occasional glance inside for a systems check and bringing the map up to almost windscreen level to check it.
Also see this video !
YouTube
Tim should be able to tell you the location of the crossroad & railway in the opening few mins as it is very near his base.