These are very valid points and I appreciate your comments... In regard to pilotage and flying as we did it when us older guys started years ago, I naver abandon the charts. I figure GPS and LORAN are just two more tools to have IN ADDITION to a $9 chart... I reckon it's like those of us who have in our toolbox, more than one 7/16th inch wrench, or more than one tape-measure. Sure, we can have overkill, but in a pinch it's nice to have a backup.
I remember one night flying my newly purchased Cherokee home from Kansas to Texas (Boy was I stupid for flying an airplane I wasn't REAL familiar with AT NIGHT... even though I had many hours in a Cherokee 140) My Trimble Flightmate just died on my X-country home... Fortunately, I always carry a small flashlight in my shirt pocket when flying at night (in addition to a big 2 Cell D battery light) and I was able to stick the flashlight in my mouth while reviewing my sectional... I found the "nearest 10 airports" the old fashioned way, landed at the nearest one, spent the night in a sleezy motel near the field and next morning diagnosed my GPS issue.
Thus my logic for having a backup device in the panel, and that King KLN-88 is looking very attractive at $100 with the antanae at the moment...
