Shoestring Flyer,
Having spent my formative first decade in the military flying 2000 hrs in another hemisphere over hundreds of often featureless miles with "iffy" charts and no radio aids and with very little other traffic to concern me, followed by a professional career based in the UK lasting over 3 decades and benefitting from sophistication including the very latest glass cockpit, I feel qualified to express an opinion.
Over 1000 hrs of my 19000 hrs in your world have been spent flying a small 2 seater VFR which happily has a transponder, but a very basic old GPS. So I trust my finger following a line on the chart more than the GPS which sometimes "freezes" when the radio's set to a particular local frequency. Naturally I still navigate small aircraft using the old techniques.
Having the benefit of long experience with different flying environments, it's communicate by every available means for me every time. Aviate and navigate come first and second, but communicate both verbally and with listening squawk as appropriate. Anything less in congested UK airspace makes me feel more at risk.
Last edited by Colibri49; 5th Apr 2017 at 10:07.