In article ,
Nathan Young wrote:

I'm just curious as to when the last time was that you used your ADF
for actual navigation?

I've been flying instruments for over 10 years. I've never flown a single
NDB approach in anger (i.e. other than in training or to pass a checkride)
in all that time. Of course, that reflects the kind of flying I do;
somebody based at a field with only an NDB approch would obviously have a
different story to tell. We pulled all the ADFs out of our club planes a
bunch of years ago.

I used to use it a lot on X/C trips (VFR or IFR), to tune in NDBs near my
route as a double-check on my navigation.

Before we had GPS, I found tuning in the LOM to be a useful situational
awareness aid on an ILS (if the CDI and ADF needles are pointed in opposite
directions while intercepting the localizer, you're going to intercept
outside the LOM, which is a good thing).

But all that's in the past. At this point, I can't imagine doing any
serious IFR flying without a GPS, and once you've got a GPS, there's just
absolutely no need for an ADF anymore (except for those very rare
exceptions of fields which only have an NDB approach and no GPS overlay,
and even then I'm not sure I'd be able to resist the urge to cheat).