Yes, this is true, but I can't say I agree that it's easier to do a direct-to to the navaid; remember: plan for the missed, hope for the landing. By doing the direct-to-navaid instead of loading the approach, you're cheating yourself of the 430's assistance on the missed (and in the case of the 530, an automatic timer in the hold!
). I guess I also don't see the need for DME to the MAP until you're actually on that segment of the approach; the intervening fixes are already in the database and
are based on the DME distances so knowing where you are relative to them is all you'd need for stepdowns. Heck, the thing's even got NDB approaches in its database for criminy out loud!
p.s., to correct my earlier post, the 430's active flight plan page only shows the distance to the next fix, not to the MAP--unless the MAP
is the next fix, of course. The 530 also shows the cumulative distance to any fix in the flight plan.