Garmin has introduced the aera 760, a new aviation portable that is purpose-built for the pilot and the cockpit.
The aera 760 features a 7-inch sunlight readable touchscreen display with comprehensive chart options in a compact and dedicated portable GPS, according to company officials.
Additional features include the option to load instrument approach procedures, arrivals and departures, approach chart overlay on the map, Garmin Connext wireless connectivity, as well as the option to integrate it with select Garmin avionics. The aera 760 is expected to be available in May for a list price of $1,599.
“For nearly three decades, Garmin has sold hundreds of thousands of portable GPS products for aircraft big and small,” said Carl Wolf, vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “Building upon our acclaimed portable aviation GPS line-up, the aera 760 has the most robust aviation feature set to date, that is designed exclusively by pilots — for pilots.”
The aera 760 is an all-in-one aviation portable complete with a built-in GPS/GLONASS receiver that is optimized for the cockpit, Garmin officials note.
Its 7-inch sunlight readable display can run on battery power for up to four hours on a single charge.
Along the bezel, a USB-C connection is used to charge and power the aera 760, while a microSD card slot allows pilots to load topography and street maps or use it to transfer user waypoints.
The aera 760 features a user interface resembling that of many other Garmin products such as the GTN Xi series, G3X Touch and Garmin Pilot, allowing pilots to easily transition between multiple Garmin products in the cockpit, company officials note.
New to the aera 760, pilots can load departures, arrivals and instrument approach procedures (IAPs) within a flight plan, which can be wirelessly transferred to a navigator in the cockpit. Once a procedure is loaded, pilots have the option to view the chart or they can overlay it on the moving map.
IFR enroute charts, VFR sectionals and Garmin FliteCharts are also geo-referenced.
Jeppesen electronic charts are compatible with the aera 760 and give customers worldwide access to instrument approach chart information.
In addition to procedures, victor airways, user-defined holds and holds over an existing navigation fix can be entered into a flight plan.
Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth allow the aera 760 to take advantage of Garmin Connext wireless connectivity inside and outside of the cockpit. When connected to Wi-Fi, pilots can download aviation database and software updates without the need to physically connect to a computer. Prior to departure, pilots can also view worldwide weather information on the aera 760 when it’s connected to Wi-Fi.
In the cockpit, it is capable of wirelessly connecting to select products such as the GTX 345 or the GDL 52 to display Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic, Flight Information Service-Broadcast (FIS-B) weather, SiriusXM aviation weather, and more via Bluetooth. Exclusive features such as TerminalTraffic and TargetTrend can also be viewed on the moving map and dedicated traffic pages, Garmin officials report.
Pilots can hard-wire the aera 760’s power, audio and dual RS-232 connections to receive additional benefits. When connected to a navigator such as the GTN 650Xi/750Xi, GTN 650/750 or the GNS 430W/530W, the aera 760 can send and receive flight plan data that is entered into the navigator over a serial port so all products remain synchronized throughout the flight. It is also capable of wirelessly connecting to these navigators when paired with a Flight Stream 210/510.
When connected to a NAV/COM such as the GTR 225, GNC 255 or GTR 200, frequencies and airport identifiers can also be transferred from the aera 760 to the corresponding NAV/COM.
For aircraft flying in visual conditions, pilots can optionally connect the aera 760 to select autopilots to fly lateral GPS and single point vertical navigation (VNAV) guidance. For example, pilots flying in visual conditions can fly a VNAV profile from their current altitude to pattern altitude using the aera 760 fully coupled to the autopilot.
3D Vision technology displays a virtual 3D perspective view of surrounding terrain, obstacles and airports, as well as a horizontal situation indicator (HSI) that is capable of showing lateral and vertical deviation bars. When the aera 760 is panel mounted or paired with a compatible attitude source such as a GDL 52 or GTX 345, pilots can view synthetic vision (SVX), which adds the display of back-up attitude information on the portable.
The aera 760 also features fuel price information, an E6B flight computer, and weight and balance calculators. The E6B can be used prior to a flight to aid in calculating fuel burn, estimated time of arrival (ETA) and more. While in-flight, the aera 760 utilizes ground speed information to recalculate fuel burn and ETA.
The aera 760 is expected to be available in May for a list price of $1,599 USD and is compatible with the Garmin Navigation Database that is available in the Americas with US coverage starting at $39.95 for a single update. A variety of annual bundles are also available on the flyGarmin website, such as the U.S bundle for $169.95, which includes the Garmin Navigation Database, FliteCharts, IFR/VFR Charts, terrain, obstacles, SafeTaxi and the airport directory with fuel prices. Pilots can also add enhanced map information such as topography or street maps using a MicroSD card.
I agree with Rolf. Garmin walks away after a few years and then you’re stuck with a device that can’t be updated and, therefore, useless. Bought 3 portable units in a 20 year span and had to toss each one . No updates, no support available. Never will I buy another Garmin product.
Without seeing all of the specs, I would guess the biggest difference may be solar heating? iPads cannot take direct sunlight; they over-heat in minutes, go into thermal shutdown. So I guess if you’re in a large bubble canopy aircraft on a hot summer day, this might be a better option than an iPad. I wish the two divisions of Garmin would talk to each other(GP and portables); they present the same information, but with different graphical representation.
Solar heating is an issue, but easily rectified with a cooling fan setup such as x-nauts. Way cheaper, more useful.
Sorry Garmin, you’re pricing yourself out of the GA market on this one. Apple wins. Updating an iPad is way more convenient, and the ForeFlight subscriptions are the same price as what it appears the Garmin annual updates are going to be. ForeFlight got there first on an established and loved all purpose PDA, and the Garmin just ain’t priced well enough to break anyone loose from that.
Offer it for $900, and it will probably sell very well.
For now, meh.
OK, the first thing most pilots are going to notice is *$1,600.* And in an era where that amount will get you a top-end iPad Pro — loaded with Garmin’s Pilot or Foreflight. Shucks, $1,600 will get you THREE iPad minis.
So the question is, “what’s the point?” What new capability is the 760 ushering-in? Ummm, none really.
… Garmin you’re starting to give me headaches.
I totally agree with flitetym. Also, Garmin will turn their back on you in a few years by dropping support of their products. The IPad you buy now will still be useable. The Garmin name leaves a bad taste in my mouth.