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I guess it would just be best to file for the equipment you actually have on the plane then ask ATC for direct when getting clearance.
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Hold on now...why is it questionable to file /G because of an expired database, but then all of a sudden it's perfectly OK when you start talking to ATC on the radio?
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My reasoning is analogous to why you have to file an alternate that meets the 1-2-3 rule, AND you have to choose one that meets the 600-2/800-2 rule......but once you're in the air, you can make any airport your alternate.
When you file your flight plan, and you declare that your airplane is /G, the controllers may very well revolve your entire clearance around your GPS capabilities.
If you file as a /U, however, and then once enroute you inform the controllers that you CAN proceed direct to XYZ VOR, and that will make his job easier, he won't mind it one bit.
A few months ago, I was filed as a /U comming across the atlanta area from Valdosta, GA. As I approached the Atlanta class B from the south, I started getting mad vectors toward the east, and then finally, he said, "IS there any way you can go direct TRBOW??" I told him, "Yeah, the GPS isn't updated, but I can do it without a problem".
Next thing I know, I got a revised routine....a series of intersections that kept me on the path that he would have had to vector me, and I didn't get another vector until I was north of Atlanta, and dodging more weather (those vectors were MY call...lol).