Originally Posted by
KF5OVP
So I'm renting 152's from a fairly large international flight school to build time. One of the policies there is that I have to have to use pilotage (lakes, cities,etc.) for my cross countries, in spite of me having a iPad with a external GPS.
Personally, I find this to be a hassle because IF the iPad did fail, I would still have a paper sectional for backup. I just don't see the point in wasting time using a plotter and calculating MH for even a short 20nm flight...not to mention I would be on FF and could ask ATC for a radar vector if it came down to that.
I just want to see y'alls view on this.
Assuming you have at least a PPL, this seems a bit strange as a blanket policy. Typically as a student you should learn and be versed in Pilotage (Landmarks) and Dead Reckoning skills (Time/Speed/Distance) navigation. Most VFR X countries merge these methods (ETA to the landmark, Etc.) Was there something that prompted this, such as an instructor noticing an overreliance on the GPS? Additionally, What if... FF dropped you or you had a communications or even total electrical failure. All these and more will eventually happen, I pretty much guarantee it.