I've only flown in simulators, but the effectiveness of dead reckoning and pilotage really surprised me as I started getting used to them. Even when I'd acciden

I've only flown in simulators, but the effectiveness of dead reckoning and pilotage really surprised me as I started getting used to them. Even when I'd accidentally taken a wrong turn twice and only realised much later, I managed to figure out from direction, speed, and time approximately where on the map I was, and then from there lakes and train tracks helped me pinpoint my location exactly enough to draw a new heading to my destination. I also didn't expect that pilotage would be an incremental process. Sometimes the things I see outside could be any of a number of things on the map, but as I continue to fly in any direction and more landmarks reveal themselves, the selection of possibilities narrow until I know where I am. I have no idea if any of this is relevant to real flight, of course.