PLT OF C182; UNTRAINED IN THE USE OF THE NEWLY INSTALLED GPS-COM SYS ON BOARD HIS FLYING CLUB ACFT; CHOOSES TO FLY IFR IN IMC AND NARROWLY AVOIDS BECOMING A STATISTIC.

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A NEW GPS/COM UNIT HAD BEEN INSTALLED IN THE ACFT (CLUB PLANE) RECENTLY. NO TRAINING ON THE UNIT HAD BEEN PROVIDED; BUT THE CLUB DID INCLUDE THE QUICK INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ACFT. I HAD FLOWN THE PLANE PREVIOUSLY IN DAYLIGHT AND HAD USED THE NEW UNIT FOR COMS WITHOUT INCIDENT AND THE DIRECT-TO FEATURE OF THE GPS. ON MY RETURN TRIP; I TRIED TO USE THE FLT PLAN FEATURE AND APPARENTLY TRANSPOSED LETTERS WHEN I TYPED IN A VOR. I THEN TRIED TO ENTER THE VOR WITH A DIRECT-TO COMMAND INFLT AND EACH TIME THE GPS UNIT RE-TRANSPOSED THE LETTERS. I THEN CLRED THE ENTIRE FLT PLAN FROM THE GPS AND WAS ABLE TO ENTER THE VOR ON A DIRECT-TO BASIS. AS A RESULT; THE APCH TO THE ARPT WAS NO LONGER PROGRAMMED IN THE UNIT. WHEN I WENT TO APCH THE ARPT I UNDERSTOOD THAT I WOULD BE ON THE VOR 18 APCH (I AM NOT SURE WHY I THOUGHT THIS OTHER THAN THAT WAS THE PAGE OF THE APCH PLATES I FLIPPED TO AFTER THE RWY IN USE CHANGED FROM RWY 36). I WAS THEN GIVEN THE ILS APCH. WHEN ATC TURNED ME ONTO THE APCH I ADVISED THAT I WAS NOT RECEIVING THE ILS PROPERLY; THAT I WAS SHOWING APPROX 190 DEGS RATHER THAN THE 183 DEG COURSE TO THE ARPT. APCH THEN TURNED ME OVER TO THE TWR. I WAS FRANTICALLY TRYING TO GET THE RIGHT APCH ON THE GPS AS IT CTLED THE ONLY ILS CDI IN THE ACFT. I THOUGHT I HAD IT TUNED IN BUT THEN GOT CONFUSED BTWN THE VLOCK AND OTHER MODES. AS A RESULT; NEEDLES WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE. EVENTUALLY; I MOVED CLOSE TO THE VOR APCH COURSE AS IT WAS ON THE #2 CDI (NO VERT GUIDANCE ON THIS UNIT). PRIOR TO THAT; MY HDGS AND ALTS WERE ERRATIC AS MY ATTN WAS DIVERTED FROM FLYING THE PLANE AND THE NEEDLES WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE. I SHOULD HAVE REJECTED THE APCH WHEN MY INITIAL INDICATIONS WEREN'T RIGHT. I SUSPECT; I WAS COMFORTED THAT APCH TURNED ME OVER TO THE TWR -- DUMB; DUMB; DUMB.