Garmin Adds Features to Pilot App

Garmin has made changes to both the Android and iOS versions of its Pilot app, providing new features to tablets and smartphone users.

Garmin’s version 9.1 for iOS products now offers a feature called OpenStreetMaps, providing detailed maps to help pilots verify their location whether on the ground or in flight. In addition to streets, OpenStreetMaps shows parks, railways, golf courses, schools and more. The latest update also includes gridded winds aloft data, a Connext Devices page that shows connected devices and additional performance, checklists and weight and balance data for airplane models from Cirrus, Van’s, Cessna and Beechcraft.

Users of Android devices will see several additional features with Garmin Pilot’s 6.2 version. TFRs are color-coded based on activity: blue indicating an event coming up within one to seven days, yellow for events within 24 hours and red for active TFRs. Garmin’s FliteCharts instrument approach procedures can be overlaid on the moving map for exceptional situational awareness, with either north up or track up based on the pilot’s preference.

The new Android version also includes a logbook feature that allows geo-referenced map data to be stored with each flight. Flight plans can be stored alphabetically or otherwise based on the pilot’s preference. Another new feature is an automatic data download, providing the most updated data without having to go through any additional steps.

Another new safety feature for Android users is the glide range ring – a cyan colored ring around the aircraft’s current position that shows how far the airplane can glide in case of an engine failure. The range ring takes the current winds and altitude into consideration, and is based on the pilot maintaining the best glide speed for the airplane profile in use.