Garmin has unveiled new enhancements for the Garmin Pilot app for iOS mobile devices.
Pilots flying around the globe, including Europe, are now offered the option of filing VFR flight plans for free directly with the country Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) with a Garmin Pilot subscription.
Additional features for iOS include a flight profile view, new VFR charts for the United Kingdom and France, customized personal minimums, preferred runway selection based on favorable winds, aera 660 integration and new pricing subscriptions.
VFR Flight Plans
Garmin Pilot streamlines pre-flight planning and flight plan filing, allowing pilots to file a VFR flight plan within the app outside of the U.S. direct with the country Aeronautical Information Service (AIS). Maps integrated within Garmin Pilot offer coverage around the globe, company officials noted.
A radial menu provides on-screen access to create user waypoints, navigate direct-to, graphically edit flight plans, view weather conditions and airport information at a glance.
METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, NOTAMs and winds aloft throughout Europe may be displayed graphically as an overlay on the moving map, within the airport information page and as a widget in split-screen mode on an iPad, aiding in the pre-flight planning and VFR flight plan filing processes.
Garmin Pilot encompasses a library of more than 50 VFR and IFR charts throughout Europe, which are geo-referenced so it’s easy to determine aircraft location relative to navigation fixes. Additionally, traffic and weather information overlay on these charts to provide optimal situational awareness, Garmin officials said.
The flight profile view has been expanded to include both iPad and iPhone mobile devices, displaying a vertical cross section of airspace, terrain, obstacles and weather to give pilots a more detailed look at their intended route of flight based on a selected altitude.
New display options include the capability to overlay Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) within the U.S., aviation routine weather reports (METARs) and bodies of water within the profile view for at a glance interpretation while connected to the Internet.
When paired with the GTX 345 ADS-B transponder, Flight Stream 210 or the GDL 39 3D, ADS-B In traffic can be viewed within profile view while in-flight. Back-up attitude information received by these products can also be viewed within the synthetic vision (SVX) page and the split-screen panel page of Garmin Pilot.
Customized personal minimums
Pilots can establish personal minimums or flight operations minimums as part of their pilot profile within the app, serving as an extra margin of safety during the planning phase of flight. Cloud ceiling and visibility minimums, as well as maximum crosswind components can be tailored to each pilot profile and differentiated between day or night.
While flight planning, if weather minimums may be exceeded, pilots will be notified within the trip planning form, on the trip planning icon and within the upcoming trip sections. Once minimums have been selected, they are stored in the cloud and synced across all mobile devices.
Preferred runway selection
Selecting the most favorable runway based on the current headwind or crosswind components at a departure or destination airport is easier with Garmin Pilot. Wind direction is color-coded red and green to identify the most favorable wind and can be viewed on the airport page, within the radial menu and split screen widget to assist pilots in selecting the best runway at a given airport.
aera 660 integration
Wireless flight plan transfer is enabled between Garmin Pilot and the new aera 660 aviation portable. When both products are connected via Bluetooth, pilots can input flight plan information on one product and wirelessly transfer it to the other to ensure flight plans match, minimizing pilot workload.
New subscription options
Garmin has lowered the price of the Garmin Pilot global subscription, which provides worldwide navigation and weather, to $149.99 annually.
Garmin Pilot 8.2 for iOS is available immediately as a free update, providing existing customers access to these latest features.
For new customers, Garmin Pilot is available in the Apple App Store as a free download for the first 30 days. After the 30-day trial period, customers may purchase an annual subscription of Garmin Pilot for the U.S. starting at $74.99. Annual subscriptions for worldwide navigation and weather coverage now starts at $149.99, with options to purchase country-specific VFR and IFR charts.