I think the rudder is like deodorant in a way. Everyone says how important it is but few of those people actually use it. Everyone can tell you what it's purpose is and why it is important, but I'll bet you would be surprised at how infreguently it is used. Everyone says its for coordinated turns. I don't think many people know what a coordinated turn means. There was a thread here not too long ago about making coordinated turns. People were saying that opposite rudder was used (opposite the direction aileron stick). That's a knife edge turn unless you are flying inverted. If you are flying large circles, with a shallow bank angle you don't have to use the rudder. It does help in tight turns where you swing the tail around in a hurry as in touch and go races. It also helps in landing in windy conditions where you have to straighten the plane out but are too low to use the ailerons.