Hi Jon - we share much the same in requirements from our boxes. Like you I am more interested in what is going on around me rather than the collection of data, statistics and records. The Network has no interest. With my own aerial I cover from Schippol to Dublin and from Glasgow to France and that "patch" is more than enough.
I have 1 major airport, 1 civilian airfield, a parachuting school and a gliding school within virtual eyeball range. I'm also close-ish to, and on the flightpath of, the RR Spitfire engine base at Hucknall and there are numerous RAF stations that lie within say a 50 mile radius. Not to mention balloons (popular round here) micros, civilian choppers, a variety of overhead airways et al..
That lot keeps me and my Zeiss 10x50s happy - given clear skies! Back in 2007(?) what I needed most was a guaranteed flow of accurate and current data about the aircraft I could see, when and where they were coming from and where they were going, all presented in a simple clear style. Hence RB - the perfect answer.
Since then things have moved on. Accurate data flow has proved difficult at times in the intervening years and the DIY element has grown. However the most significant development for my type of use - Mlat - has thus far eluded Airnav.
Using Airband we have always been able to track those "missing" flights but using Mlat we can now see them - and that's where I want to be.