Old Garmin GPS units

[clearofcloud]

I think Rob has touched on an important point - airspace complexity. I very much advocate the map/watch/eyeball method of navigation. However, I don't think its unreasonable to suggest that we are all subject to making mistakes and those mistakes have varying consequences. The Mark I eyeball and map may be reliable devices but our mental processing of the information they provide isn't always so reliable.

When our hobby/profession/passion was in its very early days, all we had to use was our eyes, a watch, a compass and physical features outside. Getting lost really only affected the pilot - it was generally embarrassing, inconvenient and could probably be resolved by landing in a field and asking someone.

But flying has changed. We can no longer just land in a field and ask for help and because of more congested skies and complex airspace, getting lost has more serious consequences. I don't need to paint that picture for you.

The reality is we used to fly in three dimensions and navigate generally in two, now, more and more, we navigate in three dimensions and situational awareness is even more important than it used to be. As pilots we should have this 3D situational awareness but sometimes it lapses. In a world where we traverse the physical geography and pick our way through the "virtual" constructs that is airspace, GPS needs to be officially embraced as being at least as important as RNAV for assisting situational awareness.

The sooner GPS's importance to VFR navigation is recognised, the sooner the CAA/IAA (over here) can add to the PPL syllabus, the sensible use of GPS for navigation. It's about time that the current and future generations of pilots received formal instruction in all relevant navigation tools and techniques, their benefits and their limitations.

David