The Garmin GPSMAP 295 is rather nice in that it is a moving map, provides HSI type display and also knows about airspace. I think it also knows about terrain heights so that if you were to say enter a start point of KJFK and a destination of KLAX it would know that the Rockies are in the way and give you an appropriate obstruction clearance altitude.
The only problem is that it is rather pricey. USD1500, and you need to keep it fed with batteries as well as updated nav data from Jeppesen.
Maybe I'll buy one when I get my Private...
As everyone else has said, great as a secondary source of info, but don't ever rely on it as your sole means of navigation.
Funny story: I live on the 4th floor and my friend brought his Garmin round to show it off. We had a good play with it on the balcony (to get a signal) and noticed that the altitude readout started at 80ft and went down to -20ft despite the fact that we hadn't moved...
On the subject of GPS, I was at the AOPA show in Long Beach the other week. There were a plethora of PalmPilot and PocketPC add-ons available, many of which were GPS related. Anyone have any experience with those? Two things worry me: crashing of the OS (my Palm has been known to lock up), and fiddling around with a stylus on a tiny screen...
[This message has been edited by Londoner (edited 22 November 2000).]