Story ID: 3032912alerts
Garmin Releases Simple and Powerful Pilot App
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: 
Word Count: 209
At the Sun ’n’ Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla., this week, Garmin released the new Garmin Pilot aviation app for Apple iOS and Android devices. Garmin Pilot incorporates a number of features in a package that is much easier to use than the earlier Pilot My-Cast.

A key difference is that Garmin Pilot replicates the look and feel of the latest Garmin avionics, including icons and interfaces used on the GTN touchscreen navigators and the aera 796 handheld GPS. Features include GPS navigation, trip planning, flight-plan filing via Duats and “electronic flight bag capabilities,” according to Garmin.

Preflight tools include full weather data and imagery, AOPA Airport Directory, fuel pricing and fuel burn, en route legs and arrival-time calculators. Flight plans can be modified easily on the map screen by “rubber banding” a leg around weather or obstacles.

Garmin has also included a switch to turn off own-ship position display. Garmin Pilot includes IFR high and low en route charts, VFR sectionals and FliteCharts. Geo-referenced FliteCharts and SafeTaxi charts, which can display own-ship position, are optional.

Garmin Pilot is free for the first 30 days then costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, plus another $49.99 for geo-referenced FliteCharts and $29.99 for SafeTaxi charts.