Garmin Pilot App vs. Portable Garmin

[aviatingfool]

So....read a fair number of the 900+ posts on the nexus comparison and wonder;
what are the advantages of using the tablet with Garmin Pilot over using a Garmin aviation GPS with XM weather like my 496.
I'm guessing;
1. bigger screen
2. cheaper updates
3. option of using geo-referenced IFR plates
4. option of using ADS-B with a $800 add-on receiver.
Any others come to mind?
Am really trying to find a good excuse to buy a Nexus and the app but it's amazing how higher fuel prices and a fixed income can change ones buying habits.....

 

[MAKG1]

I'm not terribly impressed with the Garmin Pilot interface. Astonishingly, it's a PITA to insert a waypoint into the middle of an existing flight plan. One would hope they would fix that, but it's not there now.

 

[Jhernandez04]

I'm not terribly impressed with the Garmin Pilot interface. Astonishingly, it's a PITA to insert a waypoint into the middle of an existing flight plan. One would hope they would fix that, but it's not there now.

I agree, I purchased both the garmin and naviator apps for my Samsung galaxy 10.1 tab and prefer the naviator for ease of use compared to the garmin. Although the garmin does have some cool features

 

[aviatingfool]

I'm not terribly impressed with the Garmin Pilot interface. Astonishingly, it's a PITA to insert a waypoint into the middle of an existing flight plan. One would hope they would fix that, but it's not there now.

Mak, doesn't this work? (from the manual)

Insert Before
Adds a new line item before the selected waypoint.
Places the cursor in the empty line and opens the
keyboard for waypoint identifier entry.
Insert After
Adds a new line item after the selected waypoint. Places
the cursor in the empty line and opens the keyboard for
waypoint identifier entry.

 

[Marauder]

Mak, doesn't this work? (from the manual)

Insert Before
Adds a new line item before the selected waypoint.
Places the cursor in the empty line and opens the
keyboard for waypoint identifier entry.
Insert After
Adds a new line item after the selected waypoint. Places
the cursor in the empty line and opens the keyboard for
waypoint identifier entry.

Exactly

 

[LDJones]

Mak, doesn't this work? (from the manual)

Insert Before
Adds a new line item before the selected waypoint.
Places the cursor in the empty line and opens the
keyboard for waypoint identifier entry.
Insert After
Adds a new line item after the selected waypoint. Places
the cursor in the empty line and opens the keyboard for
waypoint identifier entry.

That's the way I do it. Go to the Active FPL page, click on a waypoint. The menu appears on the right with all the options for inserting before/after/remove, etc. Works just fine.

I wrote it up and posted an image here:
http://www.mnaviationpro.com/2013/01/11/adding-a-waypoint-to-garmin-pilot/

 

[Shepherd]

I'm not terribly impressed with the Garmin Pilot interface. Astonishingly, it's a PITA to insert a waypoint into the middle of an existing flight plan. One would hope they would fix that, but it's not there now.

As opposed to putting a mark on a piece of paper, measuring, calculating, writing the numbers into your paper plan while balancing it all on your knee.

I agree, Garmin Pilot and Naviator have a number of "What the heck were they thinking??!!??" features. Of course, every app on the planet does. Most of this stuff is still so new it's more an instance of not how well the bear dances, but that the bear can dance at all.
I spent 37 years as a physicist and computer scientist at IBM Watson Research. I have applications I wrote 25+ years ago, and I'm still finding "What was I thinking?" features, and correcting them for the people that still use the software.

Glenn

 

[aviatingfool]

I guess a main drawback would be, without ADS-B, the weather is only valid on the ground within range of WiFi?

 

[NaviatorMike]

I agree, Garmin Pilot and Naviator have a number of "What the heck were they thinking??!!??" features.
Glenn

I'd love to hear what some of these are, for Naviator at least (or anything else that you think can help improve the overall usability of the app)

Cheers,
Mike

 

[gprellwitz]

Can't compare it to Garmin Pilot, but I can compare it to ForeFlight and WingX, and I would expect Garmin Pilot to be a lot closer to those than to the handheld unit.

You already mentioned a number of them. I'll add:
Additional Pros for tablet:
ability to have the official sectionals and IFR low en-routes, including all the altitudes, Victor routes, etc. available.
Ability to see approach plates at all, much less geo-referenced.
The ability to have a wireless cockpit, even if you need an external ADS-B unit. (The battery life usually, but not always, eliminates the need to tie into ship's power, though it can be an option, in which case you do have a power cable).
The user interface is much more intuitive. Still not great, but better than the 496!
You don't typically have the screen blank periodically as you scroll around like you do on the 496.
You can have a library of your favorite music for long flights.
No XM monthly charges.
With some hardware/software combinations, you can have a true ADHRS capability with synthetic vision.

Pros for the 496:
It's water resistant, so I'm less concerned about a few raindrops. Rain on a capacitive touch screen makes it really difficult to use!
It uses buttons, not a touch screen, so it can be easier to put in correct inputs in turbulence.
You have XM radio for long flights (at an extra monthly cost).
Smaller, so uses less panel/yoke/lap space. (Of course, you could use a large cell phone instead of a tablet to get the same benefit on the other platform.)
You can replace the batteries.
XM works on the ground even when you're not in range of an ADS-B uplink transmitter.

 

[Jay Honeck]

I fly with the Nexus 7 and a Garmin 496, and can attest to the fact that I never look at the 496 when the Nexus 7 is up and running. That big, beautiful screen is way too nice to ignore, especially in favor of that dinky, slow-as-molasses-in-January-to-update 496 screen.

That said, it's still nice to have the 496 panel docked for the copilot to use. And, of course, the 496 is rock-solid, 100% stable, while the Garmin Pilot app has been known to be buggy until the most recent iterations.

 

[SportPilotCO]

I would offer that I like Garmin Pilot but I still prefer to use an actual GPS unit in the air. I had the 496 and upgraded to the 796. I know it is additional cost but if you want the experience of a larger screen and something that acts a lot more like a tablet, the 796 is unbeatable in my opinion.

Carl

 

[LDJones]

I would offer that I like Garmin Pilot but I still prefer to use an actual GPS unit in the air. I had the 496 and upgraded to the 796. I know it is additional cost but if you want the experience of a larger screen and something that acts a lot more like a tablet, the 796 is unbeatable in my opinion.

I used to think that but can no longer justify spending ten times more money for marginally better performance/reliability. For the difference in cost I carry the Nexus with current charts in Garmin Pilot and an iPad with ForeFlight and current charts....which I do. My Garmin 295 is in my flight bag but hasn't been turned on in two years.