"Mike Schumann" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
. ..
"Mike Schumann" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have 0 sympathy for either of these guys. Since when is a GPS
required for VFR navigation? What happened to learning how to read a
map and looking out the window?

You have zero sympathy for the student-pilot passenger who hadn't even
begun his cross-country flight-training yet? What sort of navigational
responsibility do you expect such a passenger to bear? (The FAA, of
course, found him to be blameless.)

Obviously the pilot is the one responsible. But you would think that a
stundent pilot with 30 hours, particularly one who is going along to get
cross country experience would have a little better grasp of map reading
and basic navigation.

His number of hours tells you nothing useful; different students can be at
very different points in their training at the same number of hours. What's
relevant is that this particular student had not yet had any cross-country
training. Why would you expect a student at that stage to already be
competent to read charts and navigate?

--Gary