"Gene Seibel" I guess I still wasn't clear on what I was trying to say. A
GPS is
great for knowing where you are on a pre-planned course. A GPS moving
map isn't good for much of anything.

"Icebound"
Concentrating on CTS, Bearing to next waypoint, and XTE for a
well-planned (and correctly entered) route, is so much easier and more
informative.

I am somewhat in disagreement on the usefulness of the map: I actually
consider the GPS map to be a very useful feature. I even consider this to
be the case in low resolution models such as the GPS III Pilot. However, I
feel that the map display is insufficient without the assistance of changing
the data fields displayed on the map page to something more useful. The map
is good at adding context to the data fields and the data fuilds are good
for adding precision to the map. I like TURN (TRACK-BEARING), OFF COURSE
(XTE), DISTANCE, and WPT (I like a textual indication of the waypoint--
accurately navigating to the wrong place is pointless).

I very strongly agree that a properly preplanned course with reference to
the proper charts is mandatory.


John Bell
www.cockpitgps.com