My examiner left our panel mounted VFR GPS on while I was doing partial
panel stuff. After that approach, I noticed him casually turn the GPS to a
page that didn't give me any useful info. Not sure if it was on purpose or
not. At least it gave me a chance to see how the winds were affecting my
ground track. Made the next 2 approaches, even without GPS, a bit easier.


"Paul Folbrecht" wrote in message
...
_Excellent_ point. My VFR GPS helps so much for situational awareness
(I have no DME), and I'm still struggling a bit with whether to use it
on the checkride. As of now I have it on the copilot yoke anyway
(because I need my chart clip and timer on my yoke) but I can still look
at it if need be. One component to the question is whether or not the
DE will just choose to make me do without it anyway.

It really helps to know how far you are from the station, using DME,
GPS, or a crossing radial. Five miles out, you still want to be
tracking back to the radial. One mile out, calling it close enough
and holding heading makes more sense. Without a good idea of how far
out you are, it's hard to know which is the right strategy.

I still remember one training flight I took years ago where I saw the
CDI head out to the peg and confidently said to my instructor, "We're
almost on top of the VOR, so I'm not going to chase the needle; I'll
just hold heading and wait for the To/From to flip". In reality, we
were still a bunch of miles out and he just sat there watching me head
off into space.