I Tried to Navigate Without GPS... Here's What Happened

[@jimmydulin928]

Something that gives one an extra hand, so to speak, is to trim up and take our hands off the yoke. The airplane can actually be kept on an established heading/target best with correct yaw adjustment sans any aileron movement. The Cherokee has the spring interconnect between rudder and aileron, but that bit of coordination is not problematic. Rudder/yaw control automatically keeps the target between your legs (instructor's as well as it is optical alignment) in no wind or keeps your butt target line wings level in a crosswind. So we can place the strip map (fold so course is on the longer part of the rectangle) on our leg or knee board with the target up. Now everything on the ground out the right window is on the right side of our true course line and everything on the left side of the plane is on the left side of the true course line and the target is the way we are headed. This gives us the yoke hand for radio or other things while keeping the map under control with the other hand. And it automatically rides wing disrupting gusts/turbulence better. The rudder is a quicker and smarter wing level control as it brings the down wing up smartly but does not over control. So while the 355 heading luber line is now the wind correction target, the plane is tracking the true course heading. Walk the rudder pedals to nail that 355 luber line. He is right about a bit more concentration on heading rather than map as you have lots of human made objects, even villages, on the ground. Notice your instructor is reading from ground to map. When he speculates about what on the map should appear is possible but not confirmed as is ground to map. He is checking the heading with what he should see/yes does see on the ground. Don't let the map trigger something on the ground that is not there. Something we have here in the states, most places, is section line survey and human object construction of roads, fence lines, etc. You need to be a bit more dead reckoning oriented there without this general straight line visible long/lat world view. The old airdrome target to heading fix works well where you are. We have fewer target, especially in the West and desert, so we figure time to targets rather cardinal minutes (say 5 or 10) between parts of legs. I am learning a lot of dead reckoning tips here.

[@neilfoster594]

Hi, I'm exactly the same, learning my nav now, done a few hrs, it's not easy at all. Planning the route, working out the heading, allowing for drift etc. Radio work, and the instructor adding extra load by talking, correcting the mistakes, of course we want to do our best, juggling the map, flying, keeping headings, airspeed, altitude, checking time, spotting fixes, and sometimes changing frequency.. and radio work.. I can tell I'm frustrating the instructor when I get overloaded ans can't even do basic math... The irony of it all is everyone uses sky demon once qualified.. Hey ho, head down and look fwd to the next lesson . 😢😂

[@SkywardPiper]

Hey! That's awesome! You've hit the nail on the head there! There is so much to keep track of and when you take your eye off of one, something will creep away from you! Trust me, it does become easier! Practice makes perfect. Keep at it! I do agree about how everyone uses Sky Demon, but it is invaluable knowledge learning how to navigate without these tools, just in case they fail! Now when I fly I will always print off the Pilot's Log from Sky Demon as a back up and take two devices so I have lots of ways to navigate if something goes wrong. I hope your instructor will be patient with you and understand that everyone learns at a different pace.