Stop by your favorite general aviation airport and you are likely to find pilots in a spirited discussion, defending the merits of low-wing versus high-wing airplanes, or north-up versus track-up on a moving-map display. It didn’t take long after the Wright brothers’ first flight for pilots to form strong opinions in aviation, and today you won’t find a more hotly debated topic than which iPad app is best for pilots: ForeFlight Mobile or Garmin Pilot. Aviation-app developers have come and gone since the iPad was released in 2010, and there are just a handful of single-solution apps used by pilots today, with ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot at the top of that list. The mission of both apps has also grown from electronic chart display to full flight planning and substituting as an integrated avionics system — and now they can do more than many certified avionics products. When you break it down, though, the real question you should be asking is which app is best for you. Both apps have all the features and capabilities to feel right at home in the cockpit of a student pilot learning to fly, while simultaneously meeting the needs of professional pilots flying turbine airplanes. They’ve also grown to offer international chart and trip support thanks to partnerships with Jeppesen and Eurocontrol.

The Rise of the iPad

Before the iPad’s introduction in 2010, pilots primarily relied on handheld GPS receivers to provide supplemental airport data and a moving map in the cockpit. Garmin dominated this segment with a variety of hardware options and screen sizes, with its products selling for as much as $2,500. These portable GPS systems were a nice-to-have accessory in the cockpit, but didn’t replace paper charts or provide much in the way of preflight weather or trip planning. It also took some work and expense to keep the nav databases current.

Then, when the iPad arrived on the scene, pilots instantly recognized it as the long-awaited consumer product that could transform how data was managed and consumed in the cockpit. It was almost too good to be true: a slim tablet with a bright, responsive 10-inch color touchscreen and a battery life that would outlast a four-hour flight. And on the software side, ForeFlight was just as responsive and released a single-solution iPad app, building on the popularity of its iPhone version of the app. The paperless cockpit era had officially begun.

While Garmin didn’t get as early a jump as ForeFlight, the Olathe, Kansas-based avionics-maker debuted its full-featured Pilot app for iPad, iPhone and Android two years later in spring 2012. Garmin might have been the largest general aviation avionics company at that time, but it found itself in the position of playing catch-up in the mobile-app market.

Garmin continued to add features over the past six years, which has allowed it to meet, and on some fronts exceed, the capabilities of every other aviation app available today. Combined with its extensive portable and certified avionics connectivity options, Garmin is making the decision tougher than ever when deciding on the best app for your needs.

ForeFlight

ForeFlight’s design incorporates many of Apple’s standard iOS interface conventions, menus and controls, which eases the learning curve. It takes just a few taps to get to any location in the app, which you’ll appreciate when you need to access information quickly, like finding an instrument-approach chart or airspace information. ForeFlight uses the familiar iOS tab bar menu at the bottom of the screen to quickly switch between screens with one tap. Alternatively, the universal search function, accessible at the top of the Maps, Airports and Plates sections of the app, allows you to search for any type of data (airport info, chart, route and so on) and jump to its location in the app.

After spending some time with ForeFlight, you’ll find many thoughtful features designed to make life easier for the GA pilot flying single-pilot. The app excels at taking routine data that we’ve been using for years and presenting it in a much more meaningful way. For example, when viewing an instrument-approach chart or airport diagram, ForeFlight displays a shortcut on the screen to view all applicable notams about that procedure. And when an airport has a notam for a closed runway, the app presents a bold red banner across the center of the airport info screen to make sure it doesn’t get overlooked. An automated chart pack option is available when planning a flight, allowing you to press one button to download all the VFR/IFR charts needed for the trip. Then, when new charts become available for download every 28 days, ForeFlight will automatically download them when you open the app, reducing the likelihood you’ll ever get stuck with old charts in flight.

When it comes time to plan a flight, the Flights section of the app guides you through each step of the process, eliminating the need to bounce around to gather and enter data. For IFR pilots, ForeFlight offers a Recommended Route feature to help choose the optimum IFR route. This routing engine analyzes thousands of possible options based on your detailed aircraft performance profile and time/fuel savings, while also accounting for your aircraft ceiling, preferred routes and trending ATC-cleared routes.

There are just as many tools available in flight when automation can really help. ForeFlight’s contextual alerts play the role of the digital copilot, and will alert you on the ground with both visual and aural messages as you approach and enter active runways. In the air, they’ll notify when approaching a TFR or the Washington, D.C., special flight rules area. From a flight-safety standpoint, the app will alert you to cabin-altitude concerns, nearby terrain/obstacles, high sink rates, descent through 500 feet agl and nearby traffic when coupled with an ADS-B receiver. There are also convenience alerts, such as displaying the ATIS frequency for the destination airport during the arrival or displaying the nearby altimeter setting when descending through FL 180.

Another standout ForeFlight feature is its dedication to providing a high-quality weather-briefing experience. It includes all the essentials, such as text weather reports, forecasts and basic weather imagery, but then goes beyond with the inclusion of lesser-known forecast products. For example, on the airport weather screen, you’ll see a computer-generated text MOS Forecast next to the TAF that is available for more than 2,000 airports in the United States and includes a 72-hour forecast period. You’ll also see a Forecast Discussion option that includes plain language notes from the forecaster who created the TAF, describing the weather factors and confidence level that were considered.

ForeFlight includes a dedicated Weather Imagery section in the app that features a variety of forecast graphics and is by far the most comprehensive of any aviation app on the market. It aggregates data from a variety of sources, including the National Weather Service, Aviation Weather Center, Storm Prediction Center and Aviation Digital Data Service in one well-organized location. Here, you can track long-range precipitation, thunderstorm, visibility and cloud coverage forecasts with easy-to-read graphics. If you don’t mind leaving your comfort zone and learning some new weather products, you’ll be rewarded with a better understanding of the weather before each flight.

For those who prefer the standard Flight Service weather briefing, ForeFlight is the only app to offer a graphical weather briefing option, in the Flights section of the app, similar to what you’d find at 1800wxbrief.com, full of useful color graphics and images. This is a significant upgrade to traditional Flight Service briefings, which were commonly referred to as the “wall of text” — useful information, but time-consuming to put into context.

ForeFlight’s latest push has been into the turbine and professional pilot segment, offering an additional level of capability designed for the needs of high-performance operations. It includes custom aircraft performance profiles for hundreds of airplanes, ranging from piston-engine trainers to Citations and Boeing 737s, which makes long-range flight planning nearly effortless. These profiles were created using data collected directly from the manufacturer’s performance tables, providing highly accurate ETE and fuel calculations when planning a flight. The app will monitor your structural weight limits for each phase of flight, and offers various fuel policy options to assist with fuel planning. And since JetFuelX is a ForeFlight company, this free fuel card management program is nicely integrated into the app, allowing you to view contract fuel prices and request fuel releases directly from the Airports section.

Garmin Pilot

Compared with ForeFlight’s start as a charting and weather app, Garmin’s roots have always been in GPS navigation, and that’s where this app really excels. Pilots familiar with other Garmin navigation products, including the GTN 650/750 navigators, Aera portables and G1000 integrated flight deck, will feel right at home using Garmin’s data-driven moving map.

The app has a custom feel to it and doesn’t rely much on Apple’s standard iOS conventions and design. The icon-based main menu looks very similar to the home screen of the GTN 750 and FMS controllers used in Garmin’s OEM installations, again bringing an additional level of familiarity to those with previous Garmin experience. Similar to what you’d find on other Garmin navigation systems, there are nearly endless customization options for the moving-map display, providing a high degree of control. The downside of this design is that it can lead you to overlook some key features and settings when first using the app, but its nothing that can’t be sorted out with a little extra armchair flying.

The first major difference you’ll find on the map screen is the ability to launch a split-screen view with 11 different options to display alongside the map. Garmin’s implementation of these options is very well done, and allows you to keep an eye on your position on the chart graphically while simultaneously showing important items like taxiway diagrams, instrument-approach charts, a flight-plan screen, dedicated traffic display or terrain.

Flight instruments can either be displayed with the modern glass-cockpit layout or Garmin’s unique round instrument display. The synthetic-vision display is visually appealing and uses the same graphics as Garmin’s certified PFDs.

Similar to Garmin’s panel-mount navigation systems, the Pilot app offers dedicated Direct-To and Nearest functions, which are always in view in the top menu bar. Pilots have learned to love the dedicated Direct-To button on just about every other aviation GPS device, so it only makes sense that it should be front and center in the app too.

The Nearest function highlights the nearby airports on the moving map that meet your preset criteria for runway surface type and length. It will also display a list of the nearest airports across the top of the screen — tap one of the symbols, press the Direct-To key and follow the magenta line to that airport.

Then there’s Garmin Pilot’s Emergency Mode, which is arguably the most useful of any app if things go south. When you need to take action quickly (due to engine failure, instrument failure, medical issue or what have you), tapping this button will activate a modified version of the Nearest function, highlighting all the airports on the map within gliding distance of your current position. It also activates the split-screen view and displays the emergency checklist for your airplane. Well done, Garmin.

Pilots flying with ADS-B receivers will really appreciate the dedicated traffic screen, either in the full- or split-screen view. This helps to keep the moving-map screen decluttered and allows you to better identify nearby traffic when in busy airspace. This uses Garmin’s signature TargetTrend technology to show you where the aircraft will be in a user-configurable amount of time (say two minutes) depicted with a green trend line. You can easily filter targets based on relative altitude, and you can tap one to view its ground track, climb/descent rate, groundspeed and rate of closure.

Garmin Pilot has its share of smart features too, which provide contextual alerts. While these may not be as obvious as ForeFlight’s large pop-up displays and audio warnings, they can be very helpful once you know where to look for them. Start off with preflight planning — the app will constantly compare the weather reports for your planned departure and destination airports to the personal minimums you set in the app (maximum surface wind, minimum visibility and ceiling) and display a yellow triangle next to an airport ID on the Trip Planning screen when these will be exceeded, based on the nearest TAF.

For IFR flights, it will display a similar caution symbol in the same location when the weather dictates an alternate airport is needed, and display a helpful Alternate Airport Selection Guide to help you find an option that meets the requirements of FAR 91.169. You will also be notified when your selected altitude is too low for terrain, when incomplete aircraft data is entered for filing a flight plan, and on the moving map when approaching controlled or special-use airspace.

Connectivity

An important element to consider when choosing an app is connectivity. On the most basic level, you’ll want some type of GPS position source, and both apps are fully compatible with the internal GPS found on iPad models with the cellular data option and third-party GPS accessories from Bad Elf and Dual.

The next upgrade is adding a portable ADS-B receiver, which provides subscription-free weather and traffic. Both apps are only compatible with a few select ADS-B receivers, which guarantees a reliable user experience and tight hardware/software integration. Garmin is compatible with the Garmin GDL 50 and GDL 52 ADS-B receivers, while ForeFlight works with the Scout, Sentry and Stratus lines of receivers. The key takeaway here is to choose your app first, and then buy the compatible ADS-B receiver since they all offer excellent performance.

Both apps are also compatible with SiriusXM satellite weather, which offers improved coverage over the ground-based ADS-B network. Garmin Pilot is compatible with the Garmin GDL 51 and GDL 52 receivers, while ForeFlight is compatible with the SiriusXM SXAR1 receiver. The GDL 52 gives Garmin one advantage here by delivering both ADS-B weather/traffic and SiriusXM weather from the same portable device. ForeFlight users would need two separate receivers to accomplish this.

The big advancement in recent years has been in connecting the iPad to the avionics in the panel, providing two-way flight-plan transfers and an installed source of GPS, weather, AHRS and more. Garmin’s connected-panel system is called Connext and was initially designed to work exclusively with Garmin Pilot, but is now compatible with the ForeFlight app as well. Garmin avionics that offer this connectivity include the Flight Stream 110/210, GTX 345 ADS-B transponder, G3X experimental flight display and most of the new Garmin glass-cockpit systems installed in new aircraft.

There are a few Garmin connected-cockpit features that work exclusively with the Garmin Pilot app. First, you can only send SiriusXM satellite weather to Garmin Pilot using the Flight Stream system and an installed GDL 69 SiriusXM receiver (Flight Stream will send ADS-B weather to ForeFlight though). There’s also a time-saving feature, Database Concierge, that allows you to wirelessly update the databases on the GTN navigators from your iPad using the Flight Stream 510. This can only be done with the Garmin Pilot app.

Garmin Pilot also interfaces with the Aera 660 portable GPS, D2 smartwatch collection, Virb camera, inReach messenger and GSR 56 Iridium datalink for satellite calls and messaging. ForeFlight users, on the other hand, have the option to connect to additional avionics, including the Avidyne 550/540/440 navigator, Dynon SkyView panel and ADS-B transponders from L-3, FreeFlight and uAvionix.

Making Your Decision

When choosing an app, there’s more to consider than just how it looks and works on your iPad. Both these apps include access to a version specifically designed for the iPhone’s smaller screen, which often serves a completely different purpose than the iPad. Many pilots prefer to use the iPhone version when away from the airport to look up airport and FBO info, weather and for route planning, so spend time with this version while evaluating which app is best for you. It’s a great backup for charts in the cockpit too.

You might prefer an Android phone but use an iPad in the airplane — Garmin has you covered since it also works on Android and a subscription provides access to three separate devices. An additional consideration is whether you prefer to use a Web browser on a computer for preflight planning. ForeFlight is unique in that it offers a full-featured Web interface to plan a flight, view charts and evaluate the weather. This information syncs with the app on your iPhone and iPad.

You can’t go wrong with either app since both provide the core functionality to say goodbye to paper charts, but there are enough differences that it’s worth personally evaluating both applications to see which is a better fit for your preferences and type of flying. There is no risk in making the wrong choice, since you can try out both apps free for 30 days. Annual subscriptions start at less than $100 — which is the same amount you would spend on paper charts for a 200-mile IFR cross-country flight.

Try both apps, and you’ll likely find that one will ultimately feel right to you. Yes, you need to compare features, connectivity and pricing for premium features, but also spend some time thinking about which app you’ll feel comfortable with on your lap while flying a low-ILS approach in turbulence and driving rain. That’s what really matters.

More Similar than Different

While the layout and user interface of these apps couldn’t be more different, you’ll quickly find after spending some time with both apps that they offer the same core capabilities.

• Trip planning Airport/FBO data, preflight weather briefing, aircraft performance profiles, electronic nav log, Flight Service weather briefing, weather imagery, ICAO flight-plan support

• Charts FAA VFR sectionals and TACs, IFR high- and low-altitude en route charts, terminal procedures, worldwide Jeppesen VFR/IFR en route and terminal procedures

• In-flight navigation Digital flight instruments, synthetic vision, GPS-driven moving maps with geo-referenced charts and terrain awareness

• Connectivity ADS-B weather, SiriusXM satellite weather and entertainment, integration with Garmin panel-mount avionics

• Digital assistant Weight and balance, logbook, aircraft checklists, track logging and scratchpad

What you’ll find after using either app is that they really are a one-stop shop for everything you need to both prepare for and execute a flight. The next step is to dig deeper into each app’s core capabilities and see which provider will deliver an edge for you based on what, where and how you fly.

The post Which Mobile Aviation App is Best for You? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

If we’d written this story a few decades ago, the list of weather resources for pilots would have been rather short — a flight service station briefing either in person or perhaps by phone, and the evening weather report on TV or the radio. Pilots thought they’d really made progress when the direct user access terminal system (DUATS) first appeared, allowing them to check weather from a personal computer. Smartphones and tablets, of course, didn’t even exist. Today, the array of preflight weather-briefing tools and apps to deliver the best of the U.S. government’s weather resources continue to evolve and come bundled with Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight. They are available over the SiriusXM satellite weather service and can be accessed through ADS-B ground stations with devices such as Sentry, Stratus and D3. On the Web, there’s WeatherSpork and Weathermeister, which are specific to aviation, in addition to scores of weather-related websites and apps for the masses. Of course, the days of visiting an FSS for an in-person explanation of the atmosphere passed into history years ago when the FAA handed weather briefings over to Lockheed Martin, now called Leidos. Many pilots say good riddance, but while the proliferation of tablets and smartphones can slice and dice weather around the clock, there’s more to understanding Mother Nature than simply looking at reams of data. In fact, a solid understanding of how the atmosphere normally functions is key to completing a practical pilot weather equation. The beauty of an in-person visit to an FSS was the wealth of knowledge briefers delivered on a one-to-one basis as they pulled up the latest prognostic charts or offered analysis of the data based on their regional knowledge. In the early days, it would be odd to find an FSS briefer who wasn’t a pilot. While pilots can still speak to a live briefer on the phone, much of the weather-data analysis is up to the pilot, whose basic flight training might have left them unprepared for the challenge.

A look at 1800wxbrief.com might seem like a step back toward the Stone Age, but the site offers an enormous amount of weather data at a great price: free. Pilots can create a personalized dashboard of preferences and see a host of current and adverse weather reports, prognostic charts, radar and satellite images and, of course, access to flight-plan-filing tools.

There’s also the telephone information briefing system (TIBS), available by calling 1-800-WXBRIEF. The TIBS recording delivers significant weather updates based on the caller’s location. TIBS recordings move along rather quickly, so be ready. A similar recording of weather updates, TWEB, is available while airborne on a variety of frequencies.

With more pilots equipping their aircraft to meet next year’s ADS-B Out mandate, the ADS-B In data stream that normally comes along with it offers access to quite a few weather resources through the free FIS-B service, a ground-based broadcast provided through the FAA’s ADS-B services network that works with already installed ADS-B ground stations when the aircraft is within range and via line of sight. FIS-B enables pilots of properly equipped aircraft to receive and display a suite of broadcast weather and aeronautical information products, some via text messages and others through graphics, most of which are also provided free of charge. Because ADS-B is transmitted from ground stations, you might not be able to receive weather data before takeoff.

Advisory Circular AC 00-63, “Use of Cockpit Displays of Digital Weather and Aeronautical Information,” contains detailed information about FIS-B meteorological products and also makes an excellent primer for pilots by detailing the terms used in most of the weather products.

FIS-B information can also be accessed through receivers such as the Sporty’s Stratus or the uAvionix Sentry, available through ForeFlight. Pilots, of course, need to understand their own system’s architecture, service environment, product life cycles, modes of operation, indications of system failure and data update intervals. For example, on FIS-B, convective sigmets are updated every 15 minutes, Nexrad every 10 minutes and pireps as they’re transmitted. This doesn’t consider the time it might take for a third-party provider to send the data. The key is realizing that none of the FIS-B weather information you receive in the air is real-time. Delays mean never, ever attempting to use uplinked weather data for precise thunderstorm avoidance or penetration.

Receivers

The least expensive hardware to bring ADS-B data to the cockpit is the portable Scout unit available through ForeFlight and created by uAvionix. The Scout measures just 3.4 inches tall and less than an inch wide while tipping the scale at just 17 grams. It requires an external battery for power and uses a suction cup to attach it to an inside aircraft window. With Scout, pilots can see the subscription-free FIS-B weather and some traffic information on ForeFlight.

Another ForeFlight receiver option is the portable Sentry, which adds a backup attitude indicator visible on ForeFlight. The Sentry is powered by its own internal 12-hour battery. Sentry comes with a high-capacity storage card for replay or storage of weather data and includes a built-in carbon monoxide detector and alarm. Like the Scout, the Sentry attaches to an inside window with a suction cup. The unit retails for $499.

Another popular receiver option is any of the Stratus units, made by Appareo and sold by Sporty’s Pilot Shop, such as the Stratus 1S or 2S at $449 and $899, respectively. The Stratus 1S, using an internal battery and antenna, brings FIS-B data to an iPad using single-band ADS-B. Stratus 1 includes WAAS GPS, but no backup attitude system. The Stratus 2S includes dual-band ADS-B, a built-in WAAS GPS, a cool replay feature, a flight-data recorder, a pressure altitude sensor and an AHRS to provide a backup attitude indicator. The Stratus 2S AHRS aligns itself, so synthetic-vision subscribers will see attitude information displayed on top of terrain. The Stratus 2S is not, however, certified to be used as a primary attitude reference.

New to the lineup is the Stratus 3, with an introductory price of $699. It features auto shutoff as well as smart Wi-Fi that also allows the iPad to gather data on the ground through the Stratus Wi-Fi link. Stratus 3 and most all other units will soon also take advantage of new FAA weather products, such as thunderstorm echo tops, lightning-strike information, and icing and turbulence forecasts, when they become available later in 2018. Stratus 3 works with a number of other apps, such as FltPlan Go, and some Android systems.

SiriusXM is an alternative to the free ADS-B weather that is transmitted via satellite, making it available anywhere in the United States even while the aircraft is sitting on the ground. Access to Sirius requires a monthly subscription ranging from $29.99 to $99.99 depending upon the options chosen. Flying with ForeFlight on an iPad requires at least the $39.99 package. Sirius weather includes U.S. and Canadian radar, cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning, TAFs and metars, graphical winds and temperatures aloft. More expensive packages include forecasts and weather observations, high-resolution graphical forecast winds, map with surface features and isobars, visibility, freezing levels, six levels of graphical turbulence and an icing “nowcast.”

Of course, SiriusXM requires satellite-capable receivers and antennas. Either Garmin’s GDL 51 or 52 will work just fine. The GDL 52 offers both Sirius and ADS-B reception in one unit, not to mention that Sirius brings more than 150 channels of SiriusXM entertainment radio to the cockpit. The $399 Garmin SXAR1 also brings SiriusXM music and weather while adding WAAS GPS functionality.

Dynon just released the DRX, a portable, dual-band ADS-B traffic and weather receiver that operates for days on an internal battery. The DRX supports connectivity with most mobile apps, including ForeFlight and FlyQ, allowing pilots to see the traffic picture with dual-band ADS-B reception to bring ADS-B weather products like Nexrad radar, metars and TAFs. DRX provides WAAS GPS and lists for $395.

On the Web

A number of specialized websites offer a range of weather resources. WeatherSpork co-founder Scott Dennstaedt says, “Our primary goal is to simplify the preflight weather analysis process and reduce the number of VFR-into-IMC accidents.” He pointed to WeatherSpork’s signature feature, the Wheels Up Departure Advisor, which “collects weather and user-defined route inputs and lets pilots look as far ahead as three days for the most opportune departure time.”

That decision is aided by colored dots at each weather reporting point that identify VFR, marginal VFR, IFR and low-IFR weather. By dragging the time selector at the bottom of the screen, users can watch how forecast weather is expected to evolve. “We really believe this is a revolutionary product and will forever shape how pilots do preflight weather analysis,” Dennstaedt added.

WeatherSpork is a companion app to Dennstaedt’s earlier weather-training venture, AvWxWorkshops.com. Subscribe to WeatherSpork — the Elite membership costs $79 annually — and pilots gain access to most of the weather training videos as part of the deal. The WeatherSpork app runs on both Android and Apple devices, or users can access the system from within an internet browser. Additional weather education is spread through a monthly newsletter called SporkNews, as well as the company blog, the Spork Report.

MyRadar’s app comes in a free and a pro version. The pro costs $2.99 and rips out the advertising messages. MyRadar is similar to the Weather Channel app, with local weather, an hourly forecast and a five-day forecast as well. MyRadar, however, opens to an animated local radar display, something not all that easy to access on the Weather Channel’s app. Depending upon the user-chosen overlays, you easily see the atmosphere in action. On the day I downloaded the app, a front happened to be passing through Chicago, so along with the radar returns, the animated winds aloft made it a snap to figure out where the front was located by where the winds began swinging out of the northwest. MyRadar also includes aviation specific overlays and a handy graphical wind readout.

My local flying club members swear by Weathermeister. The basic system is free, but with a basic subscription of $4.95 per month or the premium at $6.95 per month, the advertising’s gone. The premium option delivers TFR notifications as well as weather by email should the user choose.

While much of Weathermeister is text-table based, it improves weather briefings and go/no-go decisions by adding color against a black background to make the important elements of a metar stand out. Red or orange text means IFR weather along the route. Winds in blue translates to gusty conditions. Weathermeister also offers metar and TAF decoding, winds-aloft decoding, individualized performance profiles and a flight optimizer that identifies the most efficient altitude for a given route at the ETD.

In one example, the system showed and analyzed metars for a 100-mile radius of a test aircraft’s home base at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana. A metar for KCTB, Cut Bank, Montana, read like this on Weathermeister: “KCTB 10:43 am LIFR ¼ sm snow, fog, scattered 500 feet, scattered 800 feet 310 at 28 gusting to 39.” Clearly the field was IFR and local winds were pretty strong. More important, in the space of what a normally decoded metar uses, Weathermeister analyzed seven other stations, making comparisons a snap.

I opened the mobile Web version and added a route, KPWK-KLOU, and within seconds had access to a VFR sectional with my route highlighted, as well as an elevation profile that showed nothing higher along the way than 1,000 feet agl. The optimizer told me the fastest speed would be had at 3,500 feet, while best economy required a climb to 11,500 feet. Metars popped up for 25 miles either side of the route, as well as sigmets, a surface analysis chart, a radar mosaic, a couple of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite views, winds aloft, TAFs along the route, 12- and 24-hour prog charts and every notam I might need along the way. The fuel-price option also told me 100LL could be had for $3.60 a gallon in Lowell, Indiana, versus retail at PWK, where it’s listed at $6.24, or Bowman Field, where it’s sitting at $5.75. For $69.99 a year, Weathermeister’s not a bad deal, but users need to figure out the intricacies on their own because there’s no support.

Because the available weather resources seldom explain how to interpret the data, the FAA’s publication “General Aviation Pilot’s Guide to Preflight Weather Planning, Weather Self-Briefings and Weather Decision Making” should become the starting point for any pilot. It takes a great initial look inside the atmosphere for a new pilot and can act as a great refresher to more seasoned aviators. Other important resources include the FAA’s advisory circular AC 00-45H, Aviation Weather Services, as well as the NOAA Aviation Weather Center’s website aviationweather.gov.

The post Making the Most of Today’s Pilot Weather Resources appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

ForeFlight’s Sentry portable ADS-B receiver was the talk of Oshkosh after the product, developed in partnership with uAvionix, made its debut at AirVenture in July.

A sister product to the Scout portable, Sentry adds a whole slew of additional features that can be accessed through the ForeFlight Mobile iPad app while also upping the price.

For $499, buyers get quite a lot for their money. The Sentry is a 2.2-inch-by-3.3-inch-by-1.4-inch receiver that weighs 119 grams and includes dual ADS-B antennas optimized for 978 MHz and 1090 MHz frequencies and WAAS GPS receiver. It gives pilots access to FIS-B weather, flight information, traffic and a backup attitude display. In addition, Sentry provides a carbon monoxide monitor and alarm, offers a 12-hour battery life and comes equipped with a high-capacity data card for weather replay and storage.

In a future ForeFlight Mobile release, the unit will support the new FIS-B weather products, including icing, turbulence, cloud tops, lightning, G-airmets and center weather advisories.

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Garmin has acquired Connecticut-based flight-planning, scheduling and trip-support services company Fltplan.com, a company many pilots rely on for a decidedly self-serving reason: Aviation charts and many features in the FltPlan Go app and Fltplan.com website are free while other app developers charge subscription fees. Garmin says that won’t change.

FltPlan has risen to become one of the largest flight-planning companies in the world, creating more than 6.3 million flight plans annually for its 165,000 registered users, primarily because of its free tools. Popular Fltplan.com features include the free Fltplan flight-planning and filing website, available for U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Panama and parts of Venezuela and Colombia, as well as premium web-based offerings. The free FltPlan Go app is available for iOS, Android, and Windows, and is among the few that it is compatible with Garmin Flightstream database uploading technology.

The acquisition provides a major boost for Garmin in the web-based flight planning market to complement its portfolio of products led by its own Garmin Pilot app, second in popularity in business and general aviation only to ForeFlight.

“We are excited to have the FltPlan team join the Garmin family,” said Phil Straub, Garmin executive vice president and managing director, aviation. “We look forward to combining the comprehensive flight planning and flight management services available from FltPlan with our robust lineup of products and services to provide an unmatched portfolio of end-to-end services to our customers.”

In addition to the free features, Fltplan.com also offers a range of premium services including SMS (safety management service), PDCs (pre-departure clearances), eAPIS and APIS (advanced passenger information system) for Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, as well as premium flight tracking, the unique DCM (dot com) call sign program and runway analysis.

More recently FltPlan.com has begun including its FltLogic and FltPlan Manager tools and a suite of services from scheduling and trip coordination to post-flight reporting.

“Thousands of pilots and operators depend on FltPlan.com every day for their flight operation needs,” said Ken Wilson, founder of FltPlan. “We’re looking forward to leveraging decades of experience and industry leadership from Garmin to continue expanding and growing our service offerings and geographical reach for customers.”

FltPlan is headquartered in Southbury, Connecticut. Those offices will continue to support the portfolio of FltPlan.com and FltPlan Go products while being integrated those services into the Garmin aviation “ecosystem.”

Financial terms of the acquisition will not be released, Garmin said.

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Personal tracking devices like Garmin’s inReach Mini provide peace of mind not only to the person carrying it, but also to those who depend upon the inReach user. Weighing in at 4.23 ounces, the impact- and water-resistant device makes a perfect addition to any flight bag.

Whether on the grid or off, the inReach Mini connects to the rest of the world through the Iridium satellite network to provide position tracking, interactive SOS services with emergency responders and two-way text messaging, even when outside areas of regular cellphone coverage. The device links to a wide variety of compatible products, such as Garmin’s Pilot app and the aviation-specific D2 Charlie watch, as well as maps, aerial imagery and NOAA charts and some weather services.

The inReach Mini rechargeable lithium battery lasts about two days with the default 10-minute tracking mode and up to 20 days when the extended 30-minute tracking is selected. The inReach Mini is priced at $349.99, while a subscription plan to the required Iridium satellite service starts at around $15 per month.

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A new version of the Garmin Pilot app for iOS out just in time for the start of the spring and summer flying season adds several new features that pilots should appreciate.

Garmin Pilot Version 9.3 adds weather enhancements, airspace alerting, traffic display and runway extended centerlines, among other enhanced features. A new flight profile view lets users view the probability of severity of icing and overall icing potential, with light green, yellow and red shading indicating the likelihood of icing at given altitudes. Pilots can also view projected paths of storm cells, depicted by an orange circle with a line extending from the strongest cells and showing the predicted location of storms in the next 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes.

Symbols for hail or tornadic activity, when applicable, are displayed next to the storm cell line. And more information can be gleaned about the cell icon in the app’s radial menu. Another weather enhancement is a surface analysis layer available on the moving map for Garmin GDL 51, 52, or 69 users with a SiriusXM aviation weather subscription.

Improvements to airspace alerting include notifications before the aircraft entering select airspace segments, which can be selected on the settings page. When paired with an ADS-B In receiver, Garmin Pilot allows pinch-to-zoom capability on the traffic page. Traffic can be displayed in relative altitude (relative to own-ship) or absolute altitude (relative to the ground), Garmin says.

Garmin has also added mile marker segments on extended runway centerlines to make it easier to see how far the aircraft is from the runway on final approach.

A standard one-year subscription to Garmin Pilot is $74.99 and the IFR Premium version costs $149.99 a year.

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Tracking devices can provide peace of mind for both pilots and family members, and, like most electronic devices, these portable units have become smaller as technology has progressed. Garmin recently introduced the inReach Mini, a pocket-size satellite communicator that is small enough to fit in a pocket and weighs only 3.5 ounces.

The inReach Mini connects to the Iridium satellite network, providing position tracking, SOS services and the ability to communicate via two-way text messaging, even when far outside areas of regular cell phone service. The unit also provides access to maps, aerial imagery and NOAA charts, as well as some weather services.

The device provides communication capabilities through a wide range of compatible products, including Garmin’s Pilot app and a variety of Garmin smartwatches including the aviation-specific D2 Charlie. In addition to being a terrific addition to any pilot bag, the device is also useful for hiking, hunting, trail running, mountain biking, camping and other outdoor activities.

The inReach Mini has an internal rechargeable lithium battery, which lasts about two days with the default 10-minute tracking mode and up to 20 days with the extended 30-minute tracking mode. While small, the inReach Mini is tough. Garmin claims the unit is capable of withstanding extreme conditions, and is impact and water-resistant.

The inReach Mini will be available in the next few weeks and is priced at $349.99. A satellite subscription plan is also required for the unit to work, with pricing starting at around $15 per month.

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ADS-B. It’s an acronym only an engineer’s mother could love. Three letters followed by a hyphen and another letter hanging off in la-la land. What does it stand for again? Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast. What in the world does that mean?

Not only is ADS-B confusing, but it’s expensive too. When all is said and done it’ll end up costing taxpayers around $6 billion to build and deploy the nationwide ADS-B ground tower network and supporting computing infrastructure, not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars more each year to keep the system up and running. Meanwhile, aircraft owners will have to shell out thousands to upgrade ahead of the ADS-B mandate five years from now, on Jan. 1, 2020.

Believe us, we feel your pain. The good news is we’re about to cut through the confusion to make understanding the coming ADS-B requirements as easy as following the direct-to magenta course line on your GPS receiver.

Well, maybe not quite that easy. But ADS-B needn’t be nearly as ­confounding as you might think. After all, you don’t have to worry about every piece of the ADS-B puzzle and how the technology applies to every airplane out there. You only have to worry about how you’ll need to equip your airplane for the ADS-B mandate.

Before we delve into the discussion of exactly what ADS-B is and what it means for aircraft owners, let’s clear up a couple of persistent misconceptions. First, the 2020 ADS-B mandate is a firm date. Don’t count on a delay, except through an act of God or Congress, and maybe not even then. Here’s why: The FAA needs your airplane and many thousands more to start flying with ADS-B gear so that its engineers can perform the nitty-gritty testing of the network that, right now, is all but impossible because so few airplanes are equipped.

If you’re feeling a bit like the FAA’s ADS-B laboratory rat, that’s not a bad analogy. ADS-B is a key component of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, better known as NextGen, that will herald the transition from ground-based-radar air traffic control to something else. The FAA likes to call it a satellite-based system, but ADS-B relies on ground towers — more than 600 of them at last count — so that’s a misnomer. Still, GPS is an important component of ADS-B since it uses satellites to transmit aircraft position data.

Which leads us to another related misreading of the ADS-B rule that has been repeated and retold so many times that people now take it pretty much as gospel truth. It seems that everywhere you look somebody is telling you ADS-B requires a WAAS-capable GPS receiver. That’s not really true. What the rule says is you’ll need an IFR-certified, ADS-B-compliant GPS position source. The fact is, however, that many older GPS receivers that were designed before ADS-B was planned don’t include the necessary calculation integrity and accuracy that ADS-B needs to function. So you’ll probably end up buying a WAAS GPS receiver if you don’t already have one. Well, shucks.

OK, so now the confusion is probably setting in. Let’s back up for a moment and talk about what ADS-B is and why you should care. You probably know all about the free weather data and traffic information that the technology can transmit to your cockpit, but that has nothing to do with the upcoming mandate. ADS-B exists to benefit ATC, and mostly because of steadily increasing airline traffic. Eventually it will replace radar as the main tool controllers use to keep aircraft from running into each other. (Although radar will still exist as a backup and you’ll have to keep your old Mode C transponder, so really, what’s the point of all this again?)

ADS-B is a new way for ATC to separate air traffic that doesn’t rely on radar. Instead, each aircraft flying in ADS-B airspace will use GPS to determine its own position and automatically transmit it. These position reports over ADS-B are more accurate and update more quickly than radar, allowing for tighter aircraft spacing and higher traffic capacity in congested airspace. And finally, because ADS-B is a broadcast service that transmits data to other nearby aircraft and through ADS-R remote repeater towers, it offers an inexpensive way to provide traffic awareness to pilots.

So how does all this work? You’ve probably heard a lot of talk about ADS-B In and ADS-B Out. Maybe you’re still wondering what the difference is, or maybe somebody told you but you forgot. This is pretty simple (we promise). ADS-B In is data that’s sent to your airplane (think free ­FIS-B weather and TIS-B traffic), and ­ADS-B Out is position data (along with some other data) sent from your airplane to ATC and other nearby ADS-B-­­equipped airplanes. To meet the mandate you need an installed ADS-B Out transmitter (sorry, no portable gear) integrated with a compatible GPS receiver. ADS-B In isn’t part of the mandate, but if you want to see that free weather data to save on your monthly XM Weather bill, you can purchase that gear also.

Here’s where things get a bit murkier, but stay with us and you’ll realize it’s not that hard to understand. For a number of reasons, chief among them frequency congestion, ADS-B broadcasts over two different frequencies: 978 MHz and 1090 MHz. The 978 MHz frequency, commonly referred to as UAT (universal access transceiver), is used only in the United States and only below 18,000 feet, so it’s a good choice for piston airplanes in this country (although upgrading to a 1090 Mode S transponder may be a cheaper option for many owners). What’s also noteworthy about the 978 MHz frequency is that it’s the only one over which free weather data is transmitted. The 1090 MHz transceiver, meanwhile, often referred to as 1090 ES (Extended Squitter), is acceptable for use everywhere in the world where ADS-B is mandated, and is required when flying at or above 18,000 feet in the United States.

So where, exactly, will ADS-B Out equipment be required? In the United States, the answer is pretty much everywhere a Mode C transponder is required today, namely in Class A, B and C airspace as well as Class E airspace above 10,000 feet but not below 2,500 feet. That’s great news for Piper Cub and Aeronca Champ owners, who stay outside Mode C airspace. They won’t have to worry about the 2020 mandate since the requirements for them won’t change one iota. In fact, there will probably be tens of thousands of older general aviation airplanes for which owners will ultimately decide that the cost of upgrading for ADS-B Out just isn’t worth it, experts say.

“Take pretty much any airplane with a hull value of under $30,000 and it will be tough for those owners to justify equipping for ADS-B,” said Jim Alpiser, director of aftermarket sales for Garmin. Flight schools with airplanes that aren’t worth much money but bring in consistent revenue, he said, will have no choice but to equip for the mandate, but recreational fliers who don’t rely on their airplanes for serious transportation may opt to forgo ADS-B upgrades and fly only in uncontrolled airspace. Nobody’s very happy about it, but it’s the economic reality for some aircraft owners.

Older airplanes might also require more expensive modifications than newer ones to meet ADS-B compliance requirements. The owner of, say, an older Beech Debonair who will have to install not only an ADS-B Out-compliant transceiver but also a WAAS GPS receiver and new transponder could be looking at a bill of $15,000 or more in an airplane that might be worth only three or four times that much. “Then it comes down to personal choices by individual owners” about whether they want to continue flying their present airplane or look to upgrade to something of more recent vintage, Alpiser said.

The upgrade path for newer WAAS-capable G1000-equipped airplanes with Mode S transponders, meanwhile, is fairly simple and inexpensive, requiring only a slight hardware modification to the ­transponder and some STC paperwork. For owners of this category of airplane, the hard decisions come only when deciding whether to add an installed ADS-B In box to show free weather and traffic on the flight displays, or stick with a less expensive portable unit that displays this information on a tablet. Either way, you’ll probably want the ADS-B In capability because otherwise the broadcast technology doesn’t do anything for you.

Industry folks we spoke with said sales of ADS-B equipment have been slow up until now, but interest is starting to pick up as aircraft owners hear and heed the dire warnings about cutting it too close to the 2020 mandate. Many owners could face lengthy delays and sky-high installation prices as avionics shops raise their rates or eschew simple, one-off ADS-B mods in favor of pricier panel makeovers. A large number of customers now doing their homework on ADS-B installations, Alpiser said, are also considering other upgrades, such as adding a full Garmin G500 glass cockpit and GTN touch-screen navigators to extend the useful life of their airplanes.

Other avionics makers are noting this trend as well. John Uczekaj, CEO of Aspen Avionics, said customers asking about ADS-B are often also interested in upgrading to the company’s compact flight displays, which are designed to slide into the space in the panel occupied by two round instruments. “We tend to get a lot of questions from customers looking for a lowest-cost solution to ADS-B,” Uczekaj said. “They want to know what the minimum is they’ll need to satisfy the mandate at the least possible cost.”

A cockpit display, by the way, is not part of the ADS-B mandate. Aspen has a simple ADS-B configurator on its website that lets aircraft owners plug in information about their airplane and receive suggestions about the products that may make the most sense for what and where they fly. Prices for Aspen gear aren’t bad either, with uninstalled prices starting at around $1,700 for a basic ADS-B In transceiver and rising to around $5,000 for higher-end ­ADS-B In/Out gear. The only problem is Aspen’s ADS-B products are only just now hitting the market, so very few of them are flying.

That’s been a concern for aircraft owners who want to be certain they’re making the right decision when it comes to upgrading for ­ADS-B. Sure, several products are available today, but more are hitting the market all the time. A case in point is the new Lynx ADS-B product portfolio from L-3 Avionics Systems. The first boxes are due to be certified soon. L-3’s sister company ACSS is a leader in ADS-B avionics for the air transport market, so there’s reason for intrigue over what Lynx has to offer. Larry Riddle, vice president of marketing and sales for L-3 Avionics, promises the Lynx family will be a “game changer” for GA aircraft owners.

“Our goal was to eliminate the guesswork inherent in ADS-B and introduce a one-box solution that meets the ADS-B Out mandate, while going beyond what any other company is doing for NextGen,” he said. The company plans to reveal further details soon about a broad NextGen “road map” that will bring even more capabilities to Lynx.

Still, while it might be smart to wait for new ADS-B products, at some point aircraft owners are going to realize their window of opportunity to upgrade for the lowest price is quickly closing. When that day will arrive is hard to say, but most insiders we spoke with agreed that shops will start becoming incredibly busy by the 2018 time frame. Supply and demand being what it is, installation prices could rise significantly by then.

If you don’t want to wait any ­longer, Garmin has a full range of ADS-B products available for installation right now. You just need to pick up the phone and call your dealer. Another choice for owners of GA piston airplanes is the RANGR ADS-B product line from FreeFlight Systems. These all-in-one boxes offer full ADS-B rule compliance, plus value-added extras like integrated Wi-Fi that lets you view ADS-B weather and traffic on your iPad. Prices for the FreeFlight gear also tend to be fairly reasonable, with the top-of-the-line RANGR FDL-978-XVR ADS-B universal access transceiver selling for a list price of $5,495.

Some other fairly low-cost ­ADS-B solutions include the equipment sold through Trig and NavWorx. Trig’s ADS-B Out upgrade includes the TT21 Mode S transponder with ES capability and a separate TN70 WAAS GPS receiver with antenna and installation kit, for a price of around $6,000 for both. NavWorx, meanwhile, offers a 978 UAT box, called the ADS-600BG, that includes an ADS-B Out transmitter, ADS-B In receiver, GPS receiver and an optional Wi-Fi adapter for transmitting weather and traffic data to an iPad. The base price for the unit is $3,299. The NavWorx box is compatible with many multifunction displays as well.

Avidyne, meanwhile, offers a version of its TAS600 traffic advisory system that is ADS-B Out compliant, providing an even higher level of traffic awareness. Avidyne also sells the AXP340 Mode S ES transponder, an ADS-B-compliant plug-and-play replacement for BendixKing KT76A/KT78A transponders that sells for a retail price of around $4,000. Its new MLB100 ADS-B In receiver, meanwhile, sells for $2,495. BendixKing, as well, offers its own ADS-B-­compliant boxes.

Whatever ADS-B upgrade path you decide to take, you can rest assured that the FAA won’t change the requirements between now and 2020, so there’s no reason to wait if an option you like is available. If instead you want to lay a wager that a better ADS-B solution is just around the bend, be careful you don’t wait too long to make up your mind. Lead times for ADS-B work at shops we talked to are already stretching to several weeks, and once the mad rush of customers arrives with checkbooks in hand, it might be tough to receive your hardware before the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 2019. You don’t want to wake up on Jan. 1 with an ADS-B hangover because your airplane is suddenly grounded.

Upgrade Choices

Different aircraft will require different ADS-B equipment depending on where they fly and what’s in the cockpit already. For some airplanes, meeting ADS-B requirements will be as easy as a simple Mode S transponder modification and some STC paperwork. Other owners will want to consider a total panel makeover to add life to their airplanes. Here’s a look at five very different airplanes and how their owners might decide to prepare for the ADS-B mandate.

Cessna Citation CJ2

The airplane: A 400-knot, six-passenger business twinjet equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics, dual Garmin GTX 327 Mode C ­transponders and dual non-WAAS GNS 530 GPS receivers.

The ADS-B In/Out solution: Upgrade to dual Garmin GTX 330 Mode S ­transponders with Extended Squitter, dual GNS 530W WAAS GPS receivers and a GDL 88 ADS-B In datalink transceiver.

The price: $20,887 plus installation

Beechcraft Baron B55

The airplane: A 1980s vintage cabin-class twin with older panel-mount GPS receiver, steam gauge instruments and a Mode C transponder on its last legs.

The ADS-B In/Out solution: Upgrade to dual-display Garmin G500 cockpit with dual Garmin GTN 750 WAAS navigators, GTX 330 Mode S ­transponder and GDL 88 datalink transceiver.

The price: $38,561 plus installation

Cirrus SR22 G3

The airplane: A high-performance piston single equipped with the Garmin Perspective glass cockpit.

The ADS-B In/Out solution: Upgrade the Mode S transponder for ADS-B 1090 ES and add a Garmin GDL 88 datalink transceiver.

The price: $4,579 plus installation

Cessna 172N

The airplane: A late-1970s vintage Skyhawk with basic navcom radios, Mode C transponder and a portable GPS receiver.

The ADS-B In/Out solution: Add a FreeFlight RANGR FDL-978-XVR UAT transceiver with integrated WAAS GPS and Wi-Fi for weather and traffic on an iPad.

The price: $5,495 plus installation

Van’s RV-7

The airplane: A hot homebuilt owned by a budget-constrained flier who wants to spend as little as possible on certified ADS-B gear.

The ADS-B In/Out solution: Add a NavWorx ADS-600BG UAT unit with ADS-B Out/In capability and built-in WAAS GPS.

The price: $3,299 plus installation

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Flight Data Systems has introduced two ADS-B receivers designed for portable devices and experimental airplanes. Like Sporty’s Stratus and Garmin’s GDL 39, the portable Pathfinder provides subscription-free, real-time weather and traffic through the ADS-B system, a network that the FAA recently announced has been completed across the country.

The Pathfinder, which is a single-band, 978 MHz UAT receiver, talks to the iPad through apps such as WingX and eKneeboard, and Android devices through the FlightPro (Avilution) app. Other apps are expected to be available; however, the Garmin Pilot app and Foreflight are likely not going to be included on the list since they have their own dedicated ADS-B units. The Pathfinder’s WiFi allows for up to seven devices to use the ADS-B services at one time. In addition to the ADS-B capabilities, the unit includes WAAS GPS.

The Pathfinder Remote, which can be installed into experimental airplanes, requires an external antenna and is compatible with EFIS equipment from MGL Avionics, Grand Rapids Technologies and Advances Flight Systems. While this unit is hard-wired into the airplane and can talk to panel mounted avionics, it can also be used for the iPad through a WiFi connection.

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At Sun ‘n Fun, Sporty’s and ForeFlight announced big enhancements to the Stratus 2 ADS-B receiver/AHRS unit. The Stratus 2 is a joint production of manufacturer Appareo, iOS app developer ForeFlight and founding partner Sporty’s. The new firmware for the Status 2 — there are no hardware changes — utilized a number of new strategies to improve performance and battery life, while improving the unit’s already strong safety appeal. When Stratus receives weather information while in sleep mode, it holds the data in reserve until the pilot calls it up. It can also play back the last 30 minutes of regional or national weather, giving the pilot valuable trend information for storm cell tracking.

For its attitude capability, the Stratus 2 makes use of the newly redesigned ForeFlight app, which is at version 6. The new app allows pilots to display a virtual panel with synthetic vision and attitude, altitude, groundspeed and vertical speed information. The firmware for Stratus 2 will load automatically through ForeFlight version 6, which will be available starting Monday, April 7.

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Garmin this morning launched a portable SiriusXM receiver designed for use with its handheld GPS navigators that the company says offers up an array of in-flight weather data that was previously available only to purchasers of higher-tier subscriptions.

The new GXM 42 brings a full complement of weather information to the cockpit, including Nexrad graphics, metars, TAFs, TFRs, lightning, winds aloft, airmets, sigmets and more. For now the antenna is compatible only with the aera 796, although Garmin says it will roll out compatibilty with other handhelds later this year.

Price of the GXM 42 has been set at $599. SiriusXM has said it will offer a $300 prepaid Visa card for new purchases with a qualifying subscription and has lowered the activation fee to $25.

Garmin also announced new synthetic vision capabilities, which Garmin in this case calls SVX, for the most recent 6.1 version of the Garmin Pilot iOS app connected to the GDL 39 3D unit we wrote about recently. While the feature requires a premium subscription and GPS signal, it provides a clear 3D picture of the outside environment, including obstacles and runways, without an external device. Based on the GPS data, an EFIS display of altitude, airspeed and vertical speed is displayed over the image and course information is provided on an HSI display as long as a flight plan is loaded. The flight plan leg, distance and ETE are also shown below the HSI.

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The march of integration at Garmin continues, and the latest piece in the high-tech toolbox is the company’s update of its portable datalink receiver, the GDL 39, which now tacks “3D” onto its name. The new box is identical in appearance to the previous model but boasts a high-quality solid-state attitude sensor to go with the ADS-B receiver. Both can be used only with Garmin Pilot, an all-in-one iOS and Android app that gives you everything from moving-map displays to geo-referenced charting and much, much more.

I flew a beta version of the unit in the Cirrus back to Austin (KEDC) from Garmin’s home airport, New Century (KIXD) in Olathe, Kansas, on my 3rd generation Apple iPad. There’s not a lot to say about the AHRS, except that it works great. It got its bearings quickly and once up to speed, if there was any lag, I couldn’t spot it. One great thing about the “3D” sensor is that it’s integrated right into Garmin Pilot, so there’s no need to go to a separate app to get the gauges.

Right now the display is of steam gauges, but Garmin plans in the near future to roll out a synthetic-vision version that will closely approximate its panel-mount PFD products. As with the previous-gen GDL 39, the 3D version integrates beautifully into Garmin Pilot, so all of the ADS-B weather products available, from Nexrad to winds aloft, are available on airport information pages, on the moving map and on dedicated weather pages. The GDL 39 goes for $899 with the battery pack, and is available now at Garmin retailers.

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The Garmin Pilot mobile app just got a whole lot better with the rollout yesterday of a portable Garmin ADS-B and WAAS GPS receiver with an integrated attitude sensor that greatly expands the application’s capabilities.

Garmin says the new GDL 39 3D portable unit brings ADS-B traffic and weather information to the Garmin Pilot app while the GPS and attitude display transform it into a backup panel.

Weather is broadcast using the FAA’s 978 MHz UAT free uplink, and includes Nexrad imagery, metars, TAFs, winds and temperatures aloft, pireps, notams, and more. For traffic, the GDL 39 3D receives information on both ADS-B frequencies, 1090 ES and 978 UAT. The unit also features Garmin TargetTrend relative motion tracking, which provides a more intuitive way of judging target trajectories and closure rates.

The Bluetooth capable GDL 39 3D collects and stores all available traffic and weather data in the vicinity so it is available as soon as the display is turned on. It is capable of simultaneously providing wireless data to two devices while hardwired to a third. The Garmin Pilot app is available for iOS and Android devices.

The GDL 39 3D is also compatible with the Garmin aera 795/796, aera 500 series, and GPSMAP 695/696 for traffic and weather data only, while the GPSMAP 396/495/496 have the ability to display traffic targets (up to seven at a time).

The GDL 39 3D sells for $849, or $899 bundled with an optional battery.

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Perhaps the most interesting portable in our lineup is the SkyGuardTWX, a small and powerful ADS-B transceiver that combines a dual-band 978 and 1090ES receiver with an ADS-B transmitter. A free app lets you update the send information with your personal identification data, including your N-number, so other airplanes can see your info on their displays of ADS-B in.

The regulatory status of a portable ADS-B transceiver is not clear to us; we’ve asked a few different experts and the FAA and have gotten a number of different responses. Suffice it to say it’s a bit of a gray area in the regs. The manufacturer recommends not using it for IFR, but we were unable to find anything in the regs that would prohibit its use under instrument flight rules.

There are, clearly, a lot of amateur-built airplanes using non-TSOed gear under IFR every day. Just to be sure, I tested the unit under VFR. Like every unit in this roundup, the SkyGuardTWX performed very well. The Cirrus is an ideal platform for such a test, as the VHF transmissions pass right through the structure of the airplane. (This is not the case in metal airplanes.)

Though it made me nervous, as though I were doing something that I wasn’t supposed to, my position and N-number were transmitted through the ADS-B system when we checked on it. I was participating fully in the system, and with a portable unit at that, so not only could see other ADS-B participating airplanes but they could see me — something that is not the case for any of the other units reviewed here.

The unit works with a few iPad apps, including WingX Pro7 and SkyRadar Pro Flight; we tested it using WingX, and the traffic and weather displays were excellent.

One downside of the SkyGuardTWX is that it has a lot of antennas and a lot of wires, so it’s not so much a portable unit as a noninstalled one.

The SkyGuardTWX is available for $1,475 at skyguardtwx.com.

• Weather: Yes
• Traffic: Yes
• 978: Yes
• 1090ES: Yes
• Dual Band: Yes
• Attitude: No
• GPS/WAAS: Yes
• Price: $1,475
• Compatible Apps: WingX, Pro7, SkyRadar, MountainScope and iFLY 720 GPS Display

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There were products that came before it, but the Appareo Stratus was one of a couple of portable ADS-B receivers that set a new standard for the marketplace as an affordable, compact, reliable and high-performance model that integrated with a particular app (in the case of Stratus, ForeFlight) to give users excellent access to the weather data that ADS-B provides.

Introduced just over a year ago, Stratus is a great product. In fact, we not only raved about it when it was launched, we also later gave a Flying Editors’ Choice award to the team that developed it: Appareo, ForeFlight and Sporty’s.

As much as we loved the original, however, Stratus 2 is a far better product; it addresses nearly every shortcoming of the first version and keeps pace with or surpasses its rivals.

Unlike the first Stratus, Stratus 2 has traffic, something that Sporty’s, the exclusive marketer for the unit, initially said was not a desirable feature in a portable ADS-B box. We tend to agree with that position, as ADS-B traffic is spotty at best. Customers clearly want traffic, however, and several of Stratus’ competitors, including Garmin, with its GDL-39, have traffic, so Stratus 2 has it too. Not only that, but with the new edition of ForeFlight, the original ­version of Stratus now has traffic as well. It had always received the data from the FAA feed; now ForeFlight does something with that data.

Stratus 2 does a lot more, because it is a dual-band receiver, meaning it gets data from both bands (978 and 1090) of the U.S. ADS-B ground-based constellation, so you see more traffic and at all altitudes.

There is an additional feature that we were initially lukewarm about but have since come to appreciate: attitude. While the thought of using an iPad as a primary attitude instrument really terrifies us, the idea of relying on it as an emergency backup makes a lot of sense. A companion app from Appareo does a great job of displaying the equivalent of a flat-panel attitude indicator on the iPad (or iPhone) display, so you can keep ForeFlight open and have attitude handy.

In addition to attitude, you get GPS altitude and groundspeed, vertical speed, track and even excessive nose-up or nose-down attitude warnings, communicated via red chevrons pointing you back in the right direction.

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You mount the Stratus in the black plastic cradle (which is included with the purchase of the unit), so it doesn’t move around on you; this keeps your attitude in line. There’s an external antenna, though in the Cirrus I don’t need it at all. I get excellent reception with the built-in antenna. Style-wise, the Stratus 2 is sleek, cool-looking and very simple to use. Once you make connections via Wi-Fi, ForeFlight takes over and imports all the weather and traffic data from the ADS-B stream and — this is the best part — integrates it seamlessly into the app. Anywhere that weather or traffic data could be beneficial, Stratus 2 is there.

With many purchases in life, what you buy is predicated on what you already own, or simply what you already like. Here it’s no different. For users of ForeFlight, the Stratus brand is the only game in town. That is, it’s the only supported ADS-B sensor. The good news is, Stratus 2 is as good as it gets, and it is competitively priced to boot. Win, win, win.

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The post Flying Reviews Appareo Stratus 2 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Aviators will have a chance to check out the inReach personal satellite communicator for the first time at AirVenture this week. Produced by DeLorme, a company that started producing maps in 1976 and has grown into the GPS and satellite communication business, the inReach was developed for outdoor enthusiasts, but its application in the aviation world is evident.

InReach is a two-way satellite communicator that provides emergency alerting and GPS locating services in areas where cell phone coverage is not available, which is 90 percent of the planet, according to DeLorme. The system operates over the Iridium satellite network, and DeLorme claims data links are provided from any point in the world to another in less than 60 seconds.

The handheld unit can also be wirelessly paired to a smartphone, enabling text messaging of up to 160 characters to be sent to people in your contact list via e-mail addresses or cell phone numbers. You can even use inReach to inform your Facebook or Twitter friends of what you’re up to. InReach is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and Android phone.

Another neat feature is the ability for your friends to follow your flight track online through the GPS locating service. DeLorme claims that GPS location is accurate to within five meters.

You can see for yourself what inReach is all about at DeLorme’s booth in Hangar D.

The post DeLorme Introduces inReach at AirVenture appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Ever wished you could have synthetic-vision capability on your iPhone? Hilton Software, maker of the WingX Pro7 app for the Apple iPad, has just added support for the device, including 3-D synthetic-vision capability and optional AHRS and ADS-B integration.

We haven’t had the chance to try it out yet, but company founder Hilton Goldstein says the iPhone version is even better than the original on the iPad, and incorporates new pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-pitch capabilities that give you look-around ability and a “Birds Eye View” mode enabling an expansive 3-D terrain view.

WingX Pro7 Version 6.1 for the iPhone also adds support for Zaon Traffic integration, the ability to view flights after the fact in Google Earth and logbook support through AvConnect. The new version also integrates Seattle Avionics’s auto-router for fast and easy route planning, and can support ADS-B functionality.

“The aviation industry was amazed when we introduced our advanced 3-D synthetic vision at EAA Airventure on iPad,” Goldstein said. “As an illustration of its incredible performance and flexibility, synthetic vision on the iPhone and is even more powerful with the pinch-to-zoom, swipe-to-pitch, and Birds Eye View enhancements.”

Connected with an optional AHRS unit from Levil Technology, your iPhone can be transformed into a real-time synviz attitude indicator – perfect for the light sport and experimental airplanes, Goldstein notes.

WingX Pro7 Version 6.1 is a free update for registered users and is available now for download from the App Store and iTunes. Price for new and renewing users is $99.95 per year. Synthetic vision also requires a separate $99.95 annual subscription.

The post WingX Pro7 Synthetic Vision Comes to iPhone appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

(January 2012) I pulled the radar-detector-size electronic device from my flight bag, set it on the glareshield and frowned. Electrical and audio wires dangled across my lap as I plugged the first cord into the power receptacle on the far-right side of the cockpit and the others into my David Clark headset, which I then plugged in on the left. After toting around an iPad, portable GPS receiver, backup radio, headset, airport security badge, sunglasses and who knows what else, the thought of contending with yet another cockpit gadget didn’t rank high on my list.

Still, this was one piece of gear that just might be worth having along for the ride, I thought. If it really works, that is. I was about to try out Zaon Systems’ PCAS XRX portable collision avoidance system, a $1,495 alternative to full-featured traffic alert systems that can cost 10 times as much, and that’s not even including installation costs. So the price was right. But the reviews I’d read about the device were mixed; I had to find out for myself if Zaon’s portable really is a worthy competitor.

Departing VFR from Morristown Municipal Airport (KMMU) beneath the busy New York Class B airspace would be a good test. As I lifted off from Runway 23 in a Cessna 172 on a picture-perfect fall afternoon and turned on course to the north, the PCAS unit immediately issued a traffic alert. I was headed northwest and the XRX unit was sensing a traffic target at my altitude, three miles distant, directly ahead. Just then, Morristown Tower reported traffic at my 12 o’clock, three miles, a Falcon approaching the airport. I didn’t see the bizjet, but clearly the Zaon device did. So far, so good.

Shortly after the Falcon passed to my right, I received another alert. The Zaon unit reported a target three miles to my left and 300 feet above my altitude. Sure enough, a Gulfstream headed for Teterboro Airport was on a path that would take the big business jet directly over me. I initiated a shallow descent to provide a little extra vertical spacing and watched as the Gulfstream passed overhead. So the Zaon unit was two-for-two — already it was exceeding my expectations.

Just as I was beginning to gain some confidence in the XRX unit, continuing north on my cross-country journey to Sky Acres Airport (44N) in upstate New York, I spotted a high-wing Cessna below me and to the left. As the other airplane slid underneath, the Zaon unit remained silent. It had missed one, I thought. Or had it? By this time, I had climbed back to 2,700 feet. The sensitivity on the XRX unit was set to warn of targets within three nautical miles and 1,500 feet vertically. Could this Cessna have been flying more than 1,500 feet below me? There was no way to tell with certainty, but I had to admit it was possible.

Then the unit seemed to go bonkers. For much of the rest of the flight, the PCAS pointed out dubious targets, most of which I’m convinced did not exist. For example, for several miles, it reported traffic ahead at 1.5 miles at my altitude. There was nobody there. A few times, targets appeared and then vanished (by “appeared” I mean that the unit’s arrows pointed toward a supposed target as relative distance and altitude were provided on the PCAS display). My confidence in the unit was starting to wane until it called out traffic that was indeed real: a Piper, 1,000 feet above me, three miles ahead and traveling right to left. The Zaon unit tracked the target perfectly until it was no longer a factor.

On the flight home, the unit never issued a single alert on the entire flight over southern New York. As I flew south crossing into New Jersey, the Zaon unit suddenly beeped, warning of traffic 1.4 miles ahead and to my left, at my altitude. Sure enough, a low-wing piston single was zooming past. It was no real threat, but it was also closer than I’d prefer considering I’d spotted the airplane for the first time from less than a mile and a half away.

So what’s my verdict? Even Zaon admits that the PCAS unit doesn’t do a great job sensing targets behind, so that’s a concern. I also wondered about those occasions when I’m fairly sure, for reasons unknown, that I was receiving nuisance alerts. But it’s the several occasions during which the Zaon product saw the traffic and tracked it properly that make me want to say with near certainty that, most of the time, this product works great — probably. Would I continue flying with Zaon’s PCAS in the absence of any other traffic-alerting technology? Based on my limited exposure, absolutely.

The post Zaon’s PCAS XRX Collision Avoidance System appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

All you wanted for Christmas may have been the new Garmin 750 for your airplane. If you were lucky enough to get the new touchscreen avionics or if you’d simply like to play around with the new system, you can at the very least try out Garmin’s new GTN 750 iPad 2 training app, which was just released this week. Since the iPad 2 and GTN share touchscreen capabilities, you can interact with the screen just as you would if you were in the airplane (with the exception of a couple of twist knobs that can also be manipulated using the iPad’s screen). And you can do it while enjoying an Eggnog by the fireplace.

The training app allows you to pan the GTN 750 map, enter waypoints into a flight plan, load airways and edit flight plans graphically, among other things. There are also simulated terrain and traffic alerts, and XM weather data. And you can create simulated demo flight settings such as altitude, speed and location.

“By using this tool, pilots can interact with the trainer like they would with the device in the cockpit, allowing them to become more familiar and comfortable with a GTN before ever going up in the air,” said Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing, Carl Wolf.

You can download the app from the Mac App Store for $24.99.

The post Garmin Launches GTN 750 iPad 2 Trainer appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The release by Apple of a new operating system for the iPad, iOS 5, has raised concerns among aviation app providers that pilots’ iPads might lose charts or even entire applications without the user’s knowledge.

The issue has to do with Apple’s decision to let the new operating system delete files at its discretion if it were to run low on space. In a worst-case scenario, a pilot might add a video or download a new app only to have the new operating system delete charts from the application database. When the pilot tried to pull up the chart to fly an approach, it would simply not be there.

This is only a concern for pilots if their iPad is running low on storage space. As you probably know, different models of iPad have different amounts of drive space on them, which is used for storing files used for applications and data, which can include music, videos and photographs. According to an iPad expert from Apple, who spoke with us on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak on the subject, there is no way at this time for users to safeguard certain apps. The issue affects all apps, not just aviation ones.

Hilton Goldstein, president of Hilton Software, developer of the popular app WingX Pro, recommends not upgrading to the new OS on your iPad or iPhone. If you already have made the change, however, or if you have a new iPhone 4S, on which the new OS is native, unfortunately you can’t downgrade. In that case Goldstein suggests keeping “several gigabytes” of storage free as a safety measure.

For its part, ForeFlight recommends keeping extra space handy, and adds that it’s a good idea to turn off cell reception on your device (if it is so equipped), which is especially important with iOS 5, it says, “since your iPad only removes data from apps if it is downloading something, and you can’t be downloading if you’re not connected to the Internet.”

Numerous application developers, including Hilton Software and ForeFlight, have petitioned Apple to change the way the new OS handles storage, but so far Apple has not responded with any changes or proposed changes to what seems an ill-considered storage management scheme.

For a full technical brief on how to safeguard your data with the new iOS, check out the blog on the subject at Foreflight.com.

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