Not sure I would go with this, unless you have autopilot the wizzwheel is hard to use while you are flying, what you DO want is a big wind arrow on the chart with Max drift written besides it, you then need to know the mental tricks to apply this to your track and TAS to get heading and GS, this can also be used to cross check that the answer you have from the wizzwheel is correct (and in the exam it might tell you which of two answers to go for).
Fair point foxmoth.
I was refering more to diversions, and other changes of direction/route, to work out HDG , GS and ETA ,fuel etc. rather than for purely the initial route-planning. I didn't make that clear. Mental tricks take much longer under pressure or the numbers don't compute at all sometimes especially for students/newbies like me!. I appreciate it may not be recommended by all or to everyones taste but, personally, I find a couple of spins and you're there- if only to confirm your mental arithmetic.
Rough heading from max drift theory (from your chart if prepped.) then details- For me it reduces workload and increases confidence having 'nailed' these items .It depends of course on distances involved/familiarity of terrain/ accuracy required etc.
I did mention 'get skilled at it first'- if you know your way around it, I find it is not much more a handful than chart/ruler/pencil/protractor? but people don't use it enough at all to get handy with it.
This is all before GPS comes into the mix!
I still think the wizz-wheel is under-rated- am I alone in this, do people not use it at all in the air, before or after qualifying?
JJOE