wrote in message
...
tonight I went for a night flight with a buddy. We had a great trip
there, but on the way back he started fooling around with the GPS and
somehow I missed what he did. He changed our course to go straight
east instead of southeast. By the time I realized this...


Congratulations on your new rating. Welcome to the fraternity.

Let me guess... You hadn't plotted a course as part of your flight planning?
GPS is not a substitute for paper flight planning.

It is best to already know what course you are going to be flying, and for
how long, before you buckle yourself into the plane. That way, any big
difference between actual and what you had planned will be quickly detected.
Also, that leaves you prepared if your GPS goes TU, or if you just push the
wrong button. Following a bug on a moving map is great, but you need to have a
plan (including course lines) before your wheels leave the pavement. The
on-line AOPA flight planner is great for this, and produces kneeboard-sized
printouts that are a great start to your flight planning. Be sure to write in
frequencies for any fields that you may possibly fly near, divert to, or need to
communicate with.

Your examiner probably told you that your new SEL ticket was just a "license
to learn". Chalk up one lesson on flight planning.

Vaughn