Garmin recently introduced a new feature on its popular 696 portable moving map navigator: geo-referenced approach charts. This feature gives pilots a piece of information that can make the difference between a successful approach and, well, the opposite of a successful approach. The charts allow the pilot to have greatly improved situational awareness on the approach by displaying the GPS-derived airplane icon on the plan view.
Even though most airplanes already have moving map capability, geo-referencing brings a new level of awareness to the process, since we can see where the airplane is in relation to the specific approach.
The feature is available immediately with ChartView, which uses Jeppesen data. ChartView requires a one-time $499 enabling key and comes with free software for managing subscriptions. I recently flew a long trip with the 696 with ChartView and found it to be easy to use, and I loved seeing the airplane icon on the approach chart as verification that I was indeed where I was supposed to be on the approach.
A second, no additional fee option for geo-referenced approach charts, FliteCharts, is Garmin's electronic version of the government's AeroNav charts. Geo-referencing will be standard with FliteCharts as part of the regular subscription. FliteCharts should be available around the time you read this.
