In article ,
Snowbird wrote:

At a fundamental level, this is correct. No amount of fancy
gear can compensate for fundamental flying skills (or the lack
thereof) and for pilot judgement.

Oh come on, a 777 can do Cat IIIb autoland if I know how to push
the buttons, even if I couldn't maintain heading or altitude without
the autopilot. A GPS with "nearest" has rescued plenty of pilots
from bad judgement or poor pilotage.

This whole thread is nuts. There are many levels of safety, and
people have to choose between them all the time. Why can't people
who have decided not to install an autopilot just admit that they
have chosen a slightly lower level of safety? He I will admit
that I have chosen not to install a GPS and as a result I am less
safe than I would be with a GPS. Go ahead and insult my navigation
skills! It doesn't matter if I could draw a 3-meter resolution map
of the US from memory, however good (or bad) I am, the GPS would
augment that.

If inflating a tire cost $12000 I bet we'd have people here arguing
that they were just as safe with good landing technique on a flat tire.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/