It's not the reclining that bothers me as much as the guy that throws his seat back so fast it crunches my laptop. I might use these to at least protect my investment.
I almost blew my check ride because of a sequencing issue (pilot error) with the KLN 94 and saved it last minute. As has been said, it's tough and very challenging mentally, especially for us in the over 40 crowd. It's amazing how all those instruments fail on every flight during instrument...
Great news!!!! I saved about $50 on mine this year through AOPA by spending several grand to get my instrument rating. A lot probably depends on the coverage you are required to have. Mine costs about $150 / year.
How did they contact you? Were you on Omaha's frequency? If you we're departing east and wanted to enter their class c you would need to contact them anyway and likely get a code. Might as well do it during run up.
I think it's an issue of sample size as well as the "relative" anonymity of being online. Similar to political discussions, the people with strong opinions are generally the most vocal. When online, the relative anonymity gives people the courage to speak up more so than in person, leading to...