That’s the way flying is all about.
I wish one day MSFS have an old bird like B-727, TriStar, Super Constellation…
Cheers
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I’m sure others have mentioned this but Skyvector is great for VFR charts in the U.S. Not sure where you live, but fly around areas you know in real life and compare on the chart. You will begin to understand the chart symbols quickly. MSFS2020 is very realistic and most VFR landmarks will be in the sim. Have fun!
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YES!
That whole top menu is a big NO NO!
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How can using something as worthless as the (stock) VFR map in FS 2020 be cheating? 
A REAL sectional provides a VFR pilot with much more information. I used a Garmin GPS 90 handheld (bought it new from “Sporties”) while flying VFR until I could no longer get database updates.
Cheating would be flying FS 2020 IFR and putting the game on pause while you try to figure out where you are.
Unless you’re flying for an FAA examiner, all’s fair in love and VFR.
Edit:
I still have that old GPS 90, including all the hardware it came with, in case anyone is interested in buying a museum piece.
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Safety is the key here, so if you need the VFR map to show flight plan or even just to know where you are, then that is fine. I use it periodically in the 787 to see how the Plan is being affected by the sim, and why I am not hitting the waypoints like I should or why the sim it taking me way off course to hit a Waypoint I did not select. .
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I can’t say about nowaday, but it used to be not uncommon to see a map in a GA plane.
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There’s an old joke among pilots that prefer VFR: “IFR means I Follow Roads.” In previous sims, you probably needed an addon to get correct roads, but in this one, you can take off from KINT, head west just a few hundred feet, pick up US Hwy 52, then follow that down to I-40 Business. Follow that east and you’ll find KGSO. It’s about a 10 minute flight. Just be aware that there are some gaps in Bing’s map data. There’s another spot on the other side of KGSO where a newer major interstate is still missing, even though it’s been there in the real world for years now.
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In regards to the comment about paying for an EFB like Foreflight or Garmin Pilot, if you have an Android phone or tablet, there’s another app out there called Avare which you can hook into MSFS (or use for real flying, I do) to learn how to use for flight planning and then how to use it in flight. It’s free to use (but nice to donate a bit if you use it regularly). It has free downloads of all the up to date charts and AF/D (airport/facility Data) information for the US.
Granted, it’s not obvious on what to do with it. But, if you’re interested, just ask, I and others can suggest things to do and what information you might need or want to know in particular phases of flight.
I wrote up instructions here on how to connect it with MSFS. It’s not as polished as either of the other two, but it has most if not all the functionality you need. (The one thing I haven’t figured out is how to get a ground height along flight plan chart).
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Navigating with just a sectional chart is one of the joys FS2020 has to offer that are generally lacking in other sims. For flying outside of the clouds, you don’t even really need to use any navaids anymore since any feature noted on the map is bound to be visible in game.
Flying like this is definitely tiding me over until the IFR issues get sorted out, and it’s genuinely fun. I think I’ve spent more time staring out the window to know where I’m going than I ever have before, FSX and Xplane combined.
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I’m sure there are some. And it’s a good skill to maintain. But for practical operations, there’s no reason to rely solely on old-school pilotage if there’s a more efficient, safer alternative to get yourself from point A to point B.
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Lots of good answers here but here’s my 2c.
It depends. Many if not all pilots initially learn to navigate using a paper map and without any GPS, including phones. So if you want to simulate that then using the VFR map would be cheating.
But, obviously, many aircraft are equipped with GPS equipment and of course, there is your phone or tablet you can use too. So it is still “cheating” then? Maybe.
The VFR map in the sim is never wrong about your position and will not fail. Many GPS units, even installed in an aircraft have the words “not to be used for primary navigation”. This means that sure, you can use the GPS to confirm your position, but you must use a paper map (or approved GPS) as your main navigation source. I wonder how many real pilots adhear to that, I know I do.
In the end it is what “you” want to simulate and to what level. The transition from sim to game is not a switch and is very much up to what the individual expects.
In the end the only person being “cheated” is the player themselves, so I think the work isn’t entirely applicable. After all, how many here fly jets without starting off on trainers and learning how to do flight plans with a paper map a ruler and a manual flight computer then fly with the GPS and AP turned off? Not many! Are they cheating? No. They are missing out on one of the joys of flying (knowing they are exercising a real skill) but not cheating.
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I justify using moving map apps like Navigraph Charts on flight sim because real world pilots have tablets with similar apps.
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Garmin Fltplan GO is free and works very well, especially to see the plane on the approach chart for the R/W.
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I think see it as cheating at all. In today’s tech world, most pilots will bring in a tablet with GPS capabilities, where they can see airspace, interceptions,weather, etc. The VFR Map is basically that but with far less detail than what pilots get using those tablet apps
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Cheating? Heck no. Can it be fun to try old-school pilotage and dead reckoning? Sure. But in reality these days, even student pilots learn to plan their cross-country flights using Foreflight (or whatever EFB app) right from the start… because it’s only smart to train like you’re actually going to fly.
I flew a 1942 open cockpit biplane more than halfway across the US last fall, from IL through the mountains to WA. Guess how. Was I cheating? 
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This is what a real pilot sees in a new Beechcraft Baron…
Cheat away, as there is no such thing as cheating in aviation! The entire point of most flying is arriving at your destination as safely and easily as possible with as many aids as possible. If you want to simulate flying using older navigation methods, go for it, but never let anyone “guilt” you into doing that. Only do it if you find it fun! 
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Some of the aircraft have the same map right there on the panel anyway.
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Not at all. If you watch YouTubes of real world flying the inside of even a Cessna 172 looks like a Samsung, Apple and Garmin showroom.
As you can see in the game , almost all new planes today come with glass panels that show you everything. Pilots also carry a very popular software called ForeFlight on iPads that provide moving maps along with a host of other features.
Look at the flight deck of a 787, A350 jet airliner and they look like a PC gamers den. Screens all over the place giving you all the info you ever need. So its not cheaty. Use the resources at your disposal 
Having said all this I do encourage you to learn the basics - speed /time/distance mental calculations, dead reckoning, map reading and rules of thumb.
Indeed any airline pilot worth their salt always cross checks what the flight computers are telling them with a quick pencil to paper (or mental calculation) math ballpark. Specially when it comes to fuel burn on a long haul flight over the vast oceans.
The chances of glass cockpits failing is remote and as I said people have tablet and phone backups - but it does happen and its good to have the skills that dont require batteries and screens, its also fun and a great feeling of accomplishment when you hit a landmark or other waypoint right on time because your calculations were on point.
Enjoy the virtual skies and who knows, it might make you want to try out a flight in a light airplane one day!
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No.
All the planes I fly have some sort of GPS, whether it’s a GNS430/530/175, etc
Even if they didn’t have any GPS I’d have my phone and tablet beside me (fully charged), both with gps running an EFB.
When I was an instructor we did basic training on steam gauge aircraft without even a basic GPS. Apps for phone or tablet like foreflight and whatever the others are called weren’t available yet either. We would have considered using Google maps on the phone “cheating” as our primary source of navigation was dead-reckoning with a paper chart. Also flight preparation was performed with a pen, paper and manual flight computer. Nowadays everything is done with an app and flown using moving maps and autopilots, I’m not sure that’s a good way of learning core flying skills.
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