Thanks a lot, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for!

Rob Beyer: I disagree, take this video for example youtu.be/vjQ6yIOAisQ the pilot here is 5500 ft right in the middle of a busy vfr corridor that is used by people who are traveling north and trying to avoid SFO B and OAK C. He is also right at a vfr cruising altitude. As far as I can tell he's perfectly legal to be there but If I was a plane flying through there I would love atc to be talking to him and so they can call out to me that he exists even if they don't know an exact location

Thanks a CVn that link was helpful. The one part that stuck out was this: "On the other hand, if they do have a radio (even a hand-held radio) it can greatly add to the safety of flight if they remain in contact with ATC since they can point out traffic that they might not have seen as quickly otherwise." I have always found this to be true in my powered flying and is the root of why I'm interested in doing the same for paragliding

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed response! This is exactly what I was looking for. One small additional question. Do you think the examiner would think its cheating to use the GPS to get distance + true course quickly and then use your wind trick?