Lost Trust in Foreflight

[Jaybird180]

In fact in the very first post the OP wrote "The first time this happened, i was in the air before i noticed and i spent a little too much time playing with my iPad and Foreflight before i gave up."

For the flight in question his preferred navigation tool was inop before he even left the ground. He later posted that he did have a backup. Note that it was a pleasure flight to a new destination, where GPS is really handy once you get near the intended destination (GPS seems to me to be marginally useful over dead reckoning while en route. I've found it really really handy when trying to spot a back country air strip for the first time. Saves time searching, which can really get you lost if you aren't careful.)

The way I see it, the largest barrier to the OP in understanding the sentiments expressed was the discomfort he felt regarding his survival, when he realized that he'd become fixated on the iPad. It was a survival decision to not repeat that same exercise. Now he lives to ponder over it.

Given enough time,I suspect the OP would have resolved the training issue and as we see, his bruised ego.

I see nothing wrong with his training plan, but it does seem to miss some fundamental understandings, but that's not what's important. It's more important that he's seeking help in the best way he knows how and is working through the issues as he sees them. Would a mentor help guide him and help set priorities? You betcha.

I think the OP will eventually find his way (proverbially speaking of course).

 

[ClimbnSink]

Ya'll a bunch of crazy TV pilots. All that money to watch a screen as you buzz around. Tellin ya, a study using retina trackers to see where pilots are really looking and for how long would scare the beejeebeepers out of all of us.

 

[midlifeflyer]

And a CFI signed you off for a flight review after 42 years out of the loop without determining that you had BASIC pilotage skills? Guess you got what you paid for.

<sigh>

Mike

Unfortunate fact of life. In the case of a lot of returning pilots, too many CFIs will tend to focus on stick and rudder PTS skills and assume knowledge and navigation skills haven't atrophied.

 

[weirdjim]

Just don't come to me for your "biennial" flight review. You get to plan a flight to an airport about two hours away. You shut off the GPS and any other electronic goodies about five minutes into the flight (including VOR). If you can't find that airport and tell me when you are going to get there within another five minutes, you owe me nothing, you go back home (WITHOUT ANY OF THE GOODIES) and you get to find another instructor.

Sure I use GPS. Sure I use Foreflight. Hell, I've even got a stormscope in the 182. But if I can't go from home to destination without an electrical system working, then something is wrong. (Maybe it is my principles )

Jim

 

[JHW]

have to chuckle a little. I remember a time my then-nine year old was doing the flying, I tried to point out something on the ipad to her, she brushed me off and said "I don't have time for that while I'm driving"

 

[docmirror]

Just don't come to me for your "biennial" flight review. You get to plan a flight to an airport about two hours away. You shut off the GPS and any other electronic goodies about five minutes into the flight (including VOR). If you can't find that airport and tell me when you are going to get there within another five minutes, you owe me nothing, you go back home (WITHOUT ANY OF THE GOODIES) and you get to find another instructor.

Sure I use GPS. Sure I use Foreflight. Hell, I've even got a stormscope in the 182. But if I can't go from home to destination without an electrical system working, then something is wrong. (Maybe it is my principles )

Jim

A four hour BFR?

Something we can agree on. I won't be using you for a BFR(or if that raises the cockles, a "flight review", conducted every two years). Kuz - yah no, i gots mi prinsipalds.

 

[Shawn]

I see it as good ADM on the part of the OP. He never said that he is unable to fly or flight plan without the ipad...that was interjected by the "experts" here...but the EFB was his primary navigation/chart source for THAT flight and it was malfunctioning just PRIOR to departure...or rather not performing as expected so he made the decision to scrub and sort out the issue.

I'm sorry, but for all of you "you are only a real pilot flying with a #2 pencil and paper charts" types...wouldn't you scrub the flight if your chart was suddenly eaten by the dog as you were climbing into the plane if you were going into unfamiliar territory with no replacement option available? I would hope so.

Look at the title of the thread. It was an issue of not having confidence in the EFB as a result of the GPS not properly performing as expected. That is what I read...not that he can't fly cuz he doesn't have GPS.

The sad part is that he comes here for help from those with more experience and is berated as the worst pilot in history with an ego problem...all while admitting he has a lot to learn. As we all do. That is why it is a license to learn.

I'll bet Ben happy there is new fresh meat for the wolves to circle around!

 

[MikeELP]

Unfortunate fact of life. In the case of a lot of returning pilots, too many CFIs will tend to focus on stick and rudder PTS skills and assume knowledge and navigation skills haven't atrophied.

So true, Mark

Mike

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

I read page one. It made me want to cry. I haven't read pages 2-4. Is it just as sad?

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

I read page one. It made me want to cry. I haven't read pages 2-4. Is it just as sad?

You missed out, Page 2-4 were all photos of topless women.

 

[Bravo]

I was out flying with another pilot last week. He was PIC and I was only along for the ride for fun. We were in a non gps aircraft and he has an Ipad mounted to the yoke. I knew exactly where we were, but at one point we are 10 miles out from the airport and his ipad shut down. He looks at me like the airplane might not fly anymore. asks me where the airport is and where to go. I could see it, but just said "I don't know. I'm just along for the ride. You tell me.". I wanted to see how he would deal with it. He was so lost, both mentally and physically. Granted I knew where I was, it really emphasized the need to keep looking back on what we learned getting our ppl.

 

[nddons]

I disagree.

One of the reasons more people are not attracted to flying is that it is HARD.

Yes, people also balk at the cost, but lots of people have expensive hobbies - boats, sports cars, motorcycles, etc. Those things are a lot easier to do than fly.

Although I AGREE that a pilot should have back up plans for possible device failures, I DO NOT agree that using devices like iPads and FF as a primary method of navigation means the industry is "going to the dogs".

IMO, anything we can do to make flying easier (while maintaining safety levels) is a good thing and good for the eventual survival of GA.

Making flying easier is a GOOD THING. Those who think it HAS to be hard or it's not being done correctly are just stroking their egos and trying to keep the club exclusive.

Do you think that pilotage and ded reckoning are unnecessary skills for a pilot to master?

 

[ClimbnSink]

Just think there are millions of people out there scared to leave the house without a phone...

 

[Shawn]

You missed out, Page 2-4 were all photos of topless women.

Only way to get this much traffic on a weekend thread!

 

[Shawn]

Do you think that pilotage and ded reckoning are unnecessary skills for a pilot to master?

Absolutely are necessary and critical. Every pilot should be able to find a destination with every electrical device off.

But to do that properly and effectively especially to an unfamiliar area requires a certain level of pre flight briefing and plotting. His problem arose at departure time and it was an issue with the EFB.

Would you use pilotage and dead reckoning with a chart that you were not confident in and not sure if it was current or 10 years old?

 

[TEFLONSEAN]

Today, for the second time Foreflight would not connect to my GPS unit and i was forced to cancel my flight. i'd like to think this was pilot error and i would appreciate advice. Here's the data.

iPad Mini Retina, 32GB (with lots of extra space)
DUAL X150 GPS
Foreflight

Normally, i turn on the Dual first and confirm that bluetooth is working. At that point, i open up my iPad and turn on bluetooth, confirming that it's paired with the Dual. I then check my Dual to confirm the green light is on, showing i have a GPS connection. Finally, i open up Dual's Status Tool on the iPad, which shows how many satellites are connected as well as my current coordinates.

The first time this happened, i was in the air before i noticed and i spent a little too much time playing with my iPad and Foreflight before i gave up. Fortunately, that was a local flight, so no harm was done. When i returned, i got on the foreflight forums which told me the best solution would be to restart both my iPad and the Dual unit.

Which is what i did today, twice. Both times, the Dual was paired with the iPad and the Status tool told me i was connected to satellites and that i had coordinates. However, ForeFlight was telling me that it had NO FIX.

After 30 minutes of playing with FF and the Dual, i gave up, parked the plane, and came home.

At home, i'm finding the same problem. i can't see myself trusting FF again if it won't always connect to GPS. Anyone else have this problem and if so, how did you fix it?

Kinda sad all the armchair pilots flaming this poor guy.

Comprehension is your friend...part of that is staying on topic.

He was having trouble with a device he uses....asked simply for anyone's advise who may have had the same problem.

During the flame war.....the OP figured out the problem...yet 99% of you have given the OP nothing but grief for following a personal minimum and the decision to fly another day.

The OP is just getting back into the saddle again....im sure he has the skills to use "old school" methods....but at this point being thrown a curveball on the ground was enough to call it quits and plan for another day. Kudos.

 

[JHW]

I'm sorry, but for all of you "you are only a real pilot flying with a #2 pencil and paper charts" types...wouldn't you scrub the flight if your chart was suddenly eaten by the dog as you were climbing into the plane if you were going into unfamiliar territory with no replacement option available? I would hope so.

He didn't lose the chart. He lost the flashing blue ball showing his location on the chart.

 

[Shawn]

He didn't lose the chart. He lost the flashing blue ball showing his location on the chart.

Read the tile of the thread. Loosing the blue ball is WHY he lost trust in FF.

Now though this epic discussion it has been discovered that it was a simple location services switch, but how was he to know in the moment that it wasn't a bigger underlying problem?

 

[JHW]

Read the tile of the thread.

here it is again for your benefit:

At home, i'm finding the same problem. i can't see myself trusting FF again if it won't always connect to GPS. Anyone else have this problem and if so, how did you fix it?

what the heck does a bluetooth connection to a gps have to do with being able to look at a chart on the screen?

 

[Shawn]

here it is again for your benefit:

what the heck does a bluetooth connection to a gps have to do with being able to look at a chart on the screen?

Simple. Device was not performing as expected. Do not continue on and blindly trust the device is performing properly without diagnosing the problem first.

Sounds like good judgement to me

The only bad judgement was giving too much context to his technical question!

 

[MAKG1]

The criticism is coming from concern for your well being, not from internet pricks being mean to you.

This is on the money.

MOD isn't all that far and I could use some proficiency practice.

Time is badly constrained due to a show running -- that's also why I'm not flying enough.

I'm not sure how we can make the time work, but the OP can ride right seat around the bay on my dime and do the navigation by any non-GPS means. It will probably need to be local to avoid darkness, maybe from Reid or Livermore to simplify the airspace.

A 430 is a lot better than a tablet, but it still has failure modes and quite a lot of fiddling you don't get otherwise.

As for the "hypocrite" thing, I do most of my flying in non-GPS airplanes and NEVER use the tablet as primary. I don't trust it. The exception is CAP flying, mainly because most of their aircraft are G1000 equipped and precision search patterns are much more uniform that way.

 

[jhoyt]

First of all, good decision to cancel when you weren't comfortable.

Having had iPhones forever and been let down occasionally I don't trust them.(my disaster was trying to find my flight info when traveling in India. Phone went out just as I got to airport and I didn't have paper ticket!)

Presently, not a licensed pilot yet. I've got about 60 hours and trying to get the ticket soon, so take my comments as such. Done a bunch of solo CC but haven't worked with GPS yet. Love FF but not using it in the cockpit, mainly for helping w CC planning. Still pulling out the charts and rulers in addition to FF. I always draw a basic stick drawing of my new airport runways when planning the CC and depending on wind, also draw in the pattern and how I plan to land. Takes two minutes. Many times I'll just do a fly over a new field to check the runways out one last time. Fine to bring the iPad but I still like some backup of a chart and a few scribbles. Nice to use computers to decrease paperwork but with flying I'm still not sold on pure glass. Gotta always think the worse and plan for it.

 

[TEFLONSEAN]

WOW THIS IS MINDBOGGLING!!!

OP asked a question....was flamed...found his answer(not with help from any of you)(location settings were disabled)....still being flamed....

Any of you accidently left your paper at home or misplaced it????

Kinda the same here....do you still go?

Keep feeding your pilot egos....this thread has become the $100 burger thread.

Give it a rest.

 

[Walsh029]

I have the same setup as you. I used to have all sorts of trouble connecting my dual to FF. I read somewhere on a FF forum that turning wifi off would help. I tried that and found that I've haven't had a connection problem once I turn off wifi. This also helps the battery too.

I learned never to rely on FF about 2 years ago when leaving MMH. Couldn't get it to connect and had to use pilotage to get from mammoth back to SD. Glad I came prepared!

 

[ClimbnSink]

WOW THIS IS MINDBOGGLING!!!

OP asked a question....was flamed...found his answer(not with help from any of you)(location settings were disabled)....still being flamed....

Any of you accidently left your paper at home or misplaced it????

Kinda the same here....do you still go?

Keep feeding your pilot egos....this thread has become the $100 burger thread.

Give it a rest.

The OP would fail a PP check ride or 709 ride at his current skill set. The OP is more dangerous then Maverick. We'll give it a rest when incompetence is no longer accepted.

 

[Tarheelpilot]

WOW THIS IS MINDBOGGLING!!!

OP asked a question....was flamed...found his answer(not with help from any of you)(location settings were disabled)....still being flamed....

Any of you accidently left your paper at home or misplaced it????

Kinda the same here....do you still go?

Keep feeding your pilot egos....this thread has become the $100 burger thread.

Give it a rest.

Some of the posts have been overly direct and insensitive. That being said I believe the reason is the authors of those posts had a very strong emotional reaction to the underlying issue the OP's statements described. I don't think anyone in the thread is questioning his decision to cancel his flight. The issue is his apparent lack of confidence in his ability to navigate without some type of electronic navigation aid.

Pilotage and dead reckoning are basic skills that every pilot should posses and be able to pull off the shelf for use at any time while flying. Preflight planning for a trip, especially to a new or unfamiliar location, should be adequate enough to handle an inflight loss of electronic navigation aids without much effort.

It is also poor form to be cruising around with dead needles. The OP stated he had a 430 but is not familiar with the box so he just uses the one GPS nav tool he is comfortable with using. This is not acceptable in my opinion.

Again his decision not to fly was a good one based on his posts.

I will say that based on what he has posted I believe he should do a little studying on the other equipment installed in the aircraft he is flying to be comfortable using all of the tools available in the cockpit and knock the dust off of those basic pilotage and DR skills.

Non of those observations or suggestions mean he is a bad pilot with a sensitivity problem and shouldn't be sharing airspace with me.


To the OP. If your pilotage and DR skill set are in fact top notch and we all just made the wrong conclusion then I apologize. If not I think you should make it a priority to get them back up to snuff. It really is that important in my humble opinion.

 

[Shawn]

The OP is more dangerous then Maverick

We'll give it a rest when incompetence is no longer accepted.

Wow, the poor guy never left the ground!

 

[TEFLONSEAN]

The OP would fail a PP check ride or 709 ride at his current skill set. The OP is more dangerous then Maverick. We'll give it a rest when incompetence is no longer accepted.

The OP asked if anyone was having a problem with FF. Asking for any advise to fix his connectivity issue. The rest of you decided he has no skill set....because he decided not to fly.

I can bet you more than half of all the naysayers have willingly put themselves into a much worse position than this at one time as a pilot.

OP didn't fly.

 

[LauraE51]

Wow. AS of this post, 2,500+ views and more than 140 replies, mostly from those who think i shouldn't be flying or that i should be able to close my eyes and find my way home. i'm glad i gave many of you something to do today. i have a few thoughts i'll post on a new tread in the future, since this one devolved quite quickly.

Lots of luddites here, though.

 

[TEFLONSEAN]

Wow. AS of this post, 2,500+ views and more than 140 replies, mostly from those who think i shouldn't be flying or that i should be able to close my eyes and find my way home. i'm glad i gave many of you something to do today. i have a few thoughts i'll post on a new tread in the future, since this one devolved quite quickly.

Lots of luddites here, though.

Keep flying Brian.....glad you found your problem....nobody else could

 

[Shawn]

Brian...been in your shoes before here on POA. Just keep poking the bear and watch people's heads explode. Its more fun that way!

 

[AggieMike88]

Late comer to the thread, but the previous comments that you could have (and should be able) to execute the flight based in the charts alone are spot on. FF would have drawn a line from your origin to your destination, making it easy to identify easy to see landmarks. It's possible to drop user way points in these marks so your nav log is updated with times and headings. From there, pilotage would have gotten you to the airport.

Did you make the right call to cancel the flight because you were outside your comfort zone? Ab-so-toot-ly!

But this also identified a gap in your skill set. So take this as a chance to learn and improve as many here have encouraged.

From your responses it appears learning opportunities exist in both preflight chart use age and marking, as well as learning how to make the most of panel mounted GPS's (I think a 430 was mentioned?).

Good luck to ha!

 

[AggieMike88]

Just think there are millions of people out there scared to leave the house without a phone...

No worse than me and my then Aggie roommate. We read that a huge number of injury accidents occur within 2 miles of the home.




So we moved.

 

[Ghery]

I found VORs a pain 42 years ago. for those of you not currently living in the 21st century, i found that piloting solely by VORs took my eyes off of outside too often so i could find and plot two or more VORs to find my position. What i love about FF is that i don't need to look down at the screen very often and that i have MORE time to look outside for traffic and location confirmation.

but, feel free to remain in the stone age if you'd like.

OK, now you're attacking me (and others like me) and I haven't even posted in this thread until now. VORs are simple and work great. Of the 4 planes in the club I belong to only 1 has an approach certified GPS (a GNS 430W). The others have VOR receivers. And I don't care which one I fly IFR across the state. They will all get me where I'm going. VFR? A chart is fine (compass helps, too). But, I guess I'm living in the stone age if I don't use a GPS.

So, when you drive to a brand new city and an address you never been to, you don't use a GPS unit? Are you using paper maps when you drive to unfamiliar places? Are you that good a driver, or pilot, that you can just look outside and fly to far off unfamiliar places?

Wow, you must be great.

Actually, when I was in Germany in June on business all I had were maps. Didn't get lost, either. And, no, I hadn't driven from FRA to Essen before.

Yes. it also reminded me of what what we know in the teaching profession. It's possible to be a great mathematician, but a lousy math teacher. Criticizing my path to become a good pilot, or that i even understand what i need to learn, shows me that even great pilots can be jerks.

i can only assume that some of them are using a slide-ruler, instead of a calculator, to balance their checkbooks. It worked in the good old days, didn't it?

Why would I use a slide rule to balance a checkbook? You can't add or subtract with my Pickett N4-ES, a tool I got over 42 years ago. But, what do I know? I'm just an engineer (and a pilot).

Now, you've been given a lot of good advice by other pilots and instructors with thousands of hours more flying experience that I have. Learn to use all the tools available to you, not just the ones from the 21st century. GPS can and does fail. Electrical systems in airplanes can and do fail. What do you do when (not if) that happens? I'm glad you found the solution to your iPad problem. I couldn't help with that, I don't have one. But it wouldn't have grounded me, either. I guess that's an advantage of living in the stone age. Sorry, that was a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist.

Welcome back to flying. Relearn the stuff you learned 42 years ago. It is still valid today. Well, airspace designations have changed a bit, but you get the idea. Heck, if the plane has an ADF receiver it's still good for listening to a ball game (and homing on the station).

 

[Jay Honeck]

About a year and a half ago I had a scheduled BFR. When we met he asked me to put away my iFly and plan to KXXX airport the old fashioned way.I had to use the POH to calculate taxi fuel, time to climb, enroute fuel, W&B. I used a whiz wheel for my enroute heading figuring in all the variables. Since the airport didn't have an on field VOR I didn't even have that.

I had a BFR once with a CFI who made me do ALL of my navigation using the two old VORs in my panel. I laughed, did it -- and never hired him for anything again.

This is 2014, not 1970. Nowadays, I hire a CFI to check me for flight in modern airspace, using an entirely glass cockpit. Anyone who asks me to use a Whiz Wheel or a VOR is doing nothing but waste my money.

Wait...I don't even HAVE a VOR in my new plane.

Now, if they task me with setting up a synthetic approach to a grass strip -- THAT is worth doing.

As for the OP, his charts were in an iPad that wasn't working right. In the app I use for my sectionals (Garmin Pilot), I can still view the chart and scroll it around, GPS or not. Question: With Foreflight, can you use the sectional charts if the GPS isn't working? In other words, can you just view it like a dumb paper chart?

If the chart cannot be viewed, he made the right call. I wouldn't want to fly to a strange airport without a sectional chart on board.

If he can hold it in his hand, like a paper chart, and he had other navigational tools at his disposal, well, the flight could have been made. But sometimes the best call is to scrub, and figure out the problem, especially if the flight wasn't essential.

 

[SCCutler]

I don't think the OP made the wrong call for scrubbing the flight- if he was uncomfortable flying, turn he should not have flown, full stop.

As for whether a reasonably well-trained and competent pilot should be uncomfortable flying without a functioning ipad and ForeFlight, that is a different question, isn't it?

 

[StinkBug]

The title of this thread kinda made me laugh.....because none of us should be trusting Foreflight or any other Tablet app for our flight safety. I use the tablet, but I dont trust it. The software even has a disclaimer telling you not to trust it.

During all of my training I almost never used the GPS but I did get some training on it's use. I also use a tablet with GPS for navigation, but always keep a paper backup. I would have no problem using a panel mounted GPS as my primary navigation aid, but never an iPad or other tablet. There's a reason they aren't a certified instrument, they are unreliable. GPS is a pretty reliable system, but iPads are not. I'm really not that worried about all the satellites going out (though it can happen) but I constantly worry about my battery dying or the damn thing just deciding not to work. Because of this I carry a backup battery, and paper charts. Redundancy is a very important thing in aviation, it's why we have 2 magnetos. Navigation should be the same way. For me Plan A is my tablet because it's the most convenient interface. Plan B is the panel mounted GPS, Plan C is a mix of VORs, eyeballs and paper charts. I dont want to have to resort to plan C because it adds more work and less fun but I know I could if I had to.

Having an iPhone as a backup for your iPad is not having a plan B. That's more like a plan A1 and Plan A2. They both rely on the same system, and have the same software and are thus vulnerable to the same problems. If an iPad is gonna be your plan A, then either the panel mounted GPS, VOR or paper should be plan B, and you should know how to use all of them in case you need plans C or D.

On my first solo XC my alternator died just after takeoff. I wasn't yet using my tablet for navigation so I only had the installed aircraft equipment. Had that alternator died just a little bit later in the trip when I was away from my home airport it's entirely conceivable that I would have soon become a VERY low hours pilot with nothing but my eyes and a chart to guide me. I'm quite confident that even at that point I could have finished that trip without a problem. I'd be very nervous about flying anywhere new without that confidence in my abilities. That doesn't make me a great pilot, but it does make me one who cares about making it to the destination safely.

What I'm getting at is exactly what everybody else has been saying. You made the right choice not to fly because you lacked the skills necessary to do it safely. That was the right choice, but continuing to fly alone with only a Plan A is a very poor choice, especially when plan A is a piece of consumer electronics not designed for aviation nav use. An iPad isn't a real tool. It's a convenience, and an unreliable one at that. Paper may be old school, but it will never quit working on you. I find it funny that I have to tell that to someone who stopped flying the first time a decade before I was born.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

You missed out, Page 2-4 were all photos of topless women.

Sorry, that wouldn't do much for me.

The OP would fail a PP check ride or 709 ride at his current skill set. The OP is more dangerous then Maverick. We'll give it a rest when incompetence is no longer accepted.

Exactly. There is a much larger problem here than the operator error with his iPad. And he opened the door on it when he started telling everyone how flight was not possible or practical without it. If he doesn't want to discuss his lack of skills on a public forum, he shouldn't have brought them up in the first place. I think you're right. Not only would he not pass any test, he probably wouldn't actually depart the ramp.

Keep flying Brian.....glad you found your problem....nobody else could

Wrong. He didn't find his problem at all. Because his problem has nothing to do with the iPad or Foreflight. It has do with being incapable of navigating an airplane. And worse, refusing to accept and learn what he is having a problem with. Literally everyone else on the forum is explaining what the real problem is. He is in denial and was poorly trained. And you're coddling him. Receipt for disaster and I really hope it's not into my back yard.

I don't think the OP made the wrong call for scrubbing the flight- if he was uncomfortable flying, turn he should not have flown, full stop.

As for whether a reasonably well-trained and competent pilot should be uncomfortable flying without a functioning ipad and ForeFlight, that is a different question, isn't it?

 

[midlifeflyer]

A four hour BFR?

Sounds a bit overboard for a "normal" FR (so does 4 hours for even an extended one) but recall that in this thread we are talking about someone who is coming back to aviation after an extended layoff. In these situations, the pilot should anticipate (and a CFI should make clear in advance) a lot more than a 1-hr ground, 1-hr flight signoff.

 

[onwards]

This industry is going to the dogs if everyone thinks like you do.

Entirely the opposite. The industry has been on a long downhill decline for a while now. What is going to save it is technology - eventually to the point where flying is fully automated, but that will take a while. In the meantime, the only way to make flying more accessibly is by making it easier and simpler. There is a reason Cirrus is so successful.

I have four digital GPS-like systems to rely on - the 430, the 496, the iPad with FF/WX, and my phone. Info sources include each of these plus an iLevil. When I passed my checkride I most certainly could navigate without any of them, but today, I doubt i could in an unfamiliar environment. I think that I could still tune in to a VOR and follow that, but I doubt I could do it with confidence, and ask me a in few more years and I would likely say "no way". There was another old technology that I had to learn for my checkride with a name I don't even remember, let alone how to use it. Who cares?

Honestly, if everything failed and I could not turn back or otherwise deal with things, I'd declare an emergency and ask ATC for help. I can still recognize terrain and landmarks and follow vectors, after all.

With that said, I had a flight recently when my 430/496 dies (electrical short in the panel) and my iPad died (overheating), and I still managed to make it to the target airport which was new to me solely because I had studied the flight path before the flight and I remembered enough to get me there. I won't fly somewhere new without studying up on it.