Roy Smith wrote in news:roy-
:

Yesterday I played with the parallel track function in the CNX-80 for
the first time. I was introducing the CNX-80 to a student and I had
planned a VFR flight via airways. My student (rightfully) questioned
the wisdom of an over-water segment, so we decided to fly that segment
on a 5-mile offset parallel track (it got us over land and was a good
excuse to explore a software function I'd never used before).

But, here's my question. Why is it in the box to begin with? Other
than the gee-wiz marketing value, is there any real practical reason for
it existing?

We use it offshore for approaches. We can do a parallel-offset approach to
a rig, offsetting the final approach course 1/2 mile so that we aren't
flying directly at the rig on final. It's also useful for search and
rescue, and likely for other utility uses. Not everyone flies spam cans
between airports.

--
Regards,

Stan