GPS should be your primary means of navigation. It is the most accurate
means of navigation available. As for the inside the cockpit vs. outside
the cockpit question, you don't stare at the GPS any more then you stare at
the airspeed indicator,vsi or compass. You need to back up the GPS work
with the chart and keeping a idea of where you are but use the best tool for
the job and GPS is that. You spend so much time learning it because it's
hard and requires a great deal of practice to develop skills at it. Even
when you are using ded reckoning as your primary means of navigation you are
using other instruments such as the whiskey compass, airspeed indicator and
clock to judge your location.

"WingFlaps" wrote in message
...
On Jan 29, 9:30 am, Gig 601XL Builder
wrote:
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrote in message
...
Which is one of the systems I mentioned to start off with. But when I
took
my PPL test ride ADF and GPS weren't options so I shortened it.

You said use of a VOR was in the PP requirements. It's not.

It was for me.

But had you read the thread (and I know you did) you would have
understood that I was countering the argument of a student pilot that
basically wrote that non-instrument pilots shouldn't be using any
electronic navigation system as primary navigation. But I'm also sure
you knew this as well and just like starting arguments.

Hi 601,

So you are suggestigng that electronics should be the primary nav tool
(why then do we spend soooo much time on visual navigation during
training??) Do you check your GPS by your visual Nav (i.e. GPS is
your primary system and visual your backup)? Using a map and brain is
a good system and not subject to any of the millions of failure modes
possible in the electronics of GPS. Now IFR is another game entirely
but if your eyes are outside the cockpit how do you use GPS ;-)

Cheers