It's not moot for aviation, where GPS units can be decades old, in part due to how expensive avionics are due to an absolutely mind-boggling amount of FAA regul

It's not moot for aviation, where GPS units can be decades old, in part due to how expensive avionics are due to an absolutely mind-boggling amount of FAA regulations. The FAA is a giant lumbering dinosaur that spends a lot of time making sure private pilots generate huge reams of paperwork and restricting the kinds of equipment that can go into various categories of planes, when the overwhelming majority of GA crashes are 1)controlled flight into terrain and 2)running out of fuel. We'd have a lot less controlled flight into terrain if the FAA would unclench its avionics regulations asshole. Thankfully anyone can run an iPad with Foreflight, or any number of iOS and Android apps, that provide rudimentary terrain awareness and backup navigation.