Navigation flight planning during training

Recently, Andrew Sarangan posted:

As I mentioned in a related post, I once had a student who painstaking
did all the calculations by hand, but everything was reversed by 180-
degrees. It was because he was so caught up with measuring the chart
and operating the E6B that he missed the big picture.

Isn't "the big picture" in this case learning how to navigate? Is not
checking your results and becoming aware that something is wrong is a part
of that process?

One could argue
that had he done it by computer, his brain might have been more
relaxted to catch that sort of mistakes.

Or, more likely, the computer would have provided a solution that the
student would have accepted as unquestionably as the result that was 180º
off. That the computer may have given a correct answer is not really
evidence that the student has learned anything. Watch a cashier insist
that the change for your purchase *should* be more than the cost of the
item, and you'll know what I mean. ;-)

regards,

Neil

On 2007-03-14 17:45:14 -0700, "John Galban" said:



By the way, when I took my PPL check ride back in the dark ages, I
was expected to do more than just give the examiner a WAG on the
diversion. I had to turn towards the alternate using a WAG, then
come up with the actual course, distance and time to the new
airport. In a real life weather diversion, given the possibility of
reduced visibility or low ceilings, the accuracy of that calculation
could mean the difference between arriving, or flying past the
alternate.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

The check ride hasn't changed since you took it (at least in that
respect). The method of coming up with the actual course, distance and
time might have change, though. We no longer use leagues for distance,
for example. :-)

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

One additional comment I would like to add is that, we should not
equate computer usage with lack of understanding of the basics.

True, but it is possible (easy in fact) to use the computer without the
slightest understanding of what it is doing. It is less possible to
successfully plan a flight with pencil and paper and no understanding.

where they compared students who learned to fly in
glass cockpitsat Embry Riddle vs the traditional instruments

The methodology of the study and exactly what is being measured is
important to interpret the results.

btw, I have almost a thousand hours and still fill in the little boxes
by hand.

Jose
--
Humans are pack animals. Above all things, they have a deep need to
follow something, be it a leader, a creed, or a mob. Whosoever fully
understands this holds the world in his hands.
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