GPS vs. map

Do you people with GPS units (either panel mounted or portable) use only
them when you fly, or do you plan the same route on a map as well and plot
your position in flight, for backup in case the unit looses pickup? I've

I draw the route on the chart. Given the endurance of the Cub (12
gallons, 4.2 GPH) I'm simply not traveling far enough to use
checkpoints. I always know where I am on the chart, and I have a
decision point of one hour, with due allowance for the wind. The plane
has no Hobbs meter, and rather than using the tach as most people do,
I write the engine-on time on the back of an obsolete business card,
stuck up under the top clip of the kneeboard. That's the only
paperwork I do.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at http://www.danford.net/index.htm
Vietnam | Flying Tigers | Pacific War | Brewster Buffalo | Piper Cub

Even if VFR a map is a must, never trust any electronic gadget 100%. Even with
redundant systems there is a potential loss of electrical power.

DeltaDeltaDelta wrote:

Do you people with GPS units (either panel mounted or portable) use only
them when you fly, or do you plan the same route on a map as well and plot
your position in flight, for backup in case the unit looses pickup? I've
recently seen the SR-22 panel and some Lancair models and it got me
wondering whether aside from all these hi-tech gadgets people still use the
good old roadmap.

Triple Delta