Originally Posted by
abelenky
mjarosz
I'll be finishing my training without any GPS at all (except when practicing GPS-specific flying), and then use my portable for awareness afterward. Based on the article mjarosz provided, I might accept the occasional direct-to in good conditions, but will be purely authorized instruments on departures, approaches, and marginal conditions. Does this sound smart?
Not really. If you do not have any sort of RNAV on board then you should be filed /U. In that case the controller should not offer you direct to anything but a in-range VOR.
Without RAIM there is a very tiny chance that you might get bad data without getting a warning...probably so tiny that you are more likely to get hit by a meteor.
But the real hazard is to your career ...if a fed or ATC supervisor hears a /U aircraft accepting direct to an RNAV fix you might get violated. Private pilots do it all the time...but if they get busted, they will just spend the 30 suspension on the golf course or on the boat instead of flying. The ramifications for a professional are different...