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Re: [pct-l] Map Accuracy



At 11:16 AM 1/30/99 -0800, reynolds@ilan.com wrote:
>Yep. Can't tell who is right.

Probably both, depending on where you are along the PCT.

>Back when I was learning to fly an airplane<snip>

The last airplane I flew professionally had this cool moving map display in
it. Funny thing was, that after about 3 months of using this thing, all the
spatial orientation skills I had developed over 15 years of instrument
flying went away. I hopped in my Cessna,  plowed around in the soup, and
had a really hard time figuring out where I was with just the VorTacs which
used to be a trivial problem, I'm glad I was only going 100kts instead of
screaming along at 0.8Mach...........

After that I decided I'd set the display to use just plain old "raw data"
for at least one leg of each day, just to keep my brain tuned up. The same
advice probably works in doing good old map and compass navigation in the
backcountry. Don't get too dependent on the electronics.....

>You best instruments are the ones God gave you!

I think that means ALL of them, including your brain. Just becasue a
direction "FEELs" right, doesn't mean it IS right. The biggest problem is
when one direction FEELS right and the compass says go a different way.
Time to sit down, take a break, re evaluate.


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