In article , Roy Smith wrote:

Well, but maybe that's the real question? Is visualizing location in space
by interpreting a CDI needle indeed a basic IFR skill? It certainly was
when I did my instrument training, but is it still? Will it always be?

Yes. Probably not.

We can expect the VOR to eventually go the way of the A-N radio range.

The moving map GPS gives so much more information. Right now, we're in a
transition stage where a well-stocked GA panel consists of a moving map GPS

"Transitional is exactly the right word."

backed up by a conventional nav/com. Maybe 10 years from now, the standard
will be two moving map GPS units (or something more exotic), and the CDI as
we know it today will be as obsolete as the ADF is quickly becomming?

Possibly. I'm not expert on ergonomics, but everyone agres the CDI needle
is simple to handle and it's failure modes are well understood. The GPS
interface is complicated and nonstandard. Long term, I expect them to
figure out the ergonomics. It will probably take more than just another
decade to complete the transition.


Morris