"Dan" wrote in message
oups.com...
I think if you're going to thread tight areas in an unfamiliar metro
area these days, you'd better have a GPS with airspace depiction.
Sure, you may be able to do it via pilotage, but then again you could
easily screw up and bust class B (or worse).

I've done a lot of GPS-less flying under the Class B for New York, Boston,
Chicago, San Francisco, and Toronto (well, Toronto is Class C, but it's like
a US Class B). You have to pay attention, but it's not inordinately
difficult. (Most of the planes I rent don't have a GPS, and I have yet to
get a portable one.)

If I didn't feel prepared to do the navigation without a GPS, I wouldn't
feel comfortable even with a GPS. (What if it failed?) It could still be
usefully redundant, of course; but I don't think it's essential.

--Gary