Garmin SmartCharts: a pilot’s guide to interactive instrument charts

For all the cutting edge features found in modern EFB apps, nothing is more important than charts. Having access to always-updated, geo-referenced versions of sectionals, airport diagrams, and approach plates is table stakes these days—but it still matters more than synthetic vision or digital logbooks. Perhaps because charts are so essential, they haven’t changed much over the years.

ForeFlight and Garmin transitioned sectional and IFR en route charts to a data-driven, scalable format nearly a decade ago, replacing digital versions of paper charts with interactive map layers. (Below: digital sectional on left; data-driven VFR map layer on right.)

But all the black and white charts in the Terminal Procedures Publication (the approach plate book) have remained static—what software developers call “rasterized”—versions of the paper charts, just like pilots have used for more than 75 years.

That changed last week. After nearly a decade of work, avionics giant Garmin released SmartCharts, a fully interactive version of those familiar approach plates that is accessible in its Garmin Pilot EFB app. This seemingly modest change is actually the result of sophisticated software development, rigorous testing, and exhaustive validation work. In other words, it’s a big deal—a Jeppesen Airway manual moment for the EFB age.

Garmin has been in the aviation database business for years now, offering its FliteCharts subscription for panel and portable devices (among other services), but this is perhaps the company’s boldest move yet. More than just packaging and distributing government charts, this is essentially a new product, complete with the Garmin logo at the bottom of each page.

So what does SmartCharts really change? When might it be useful? How do you access these new charts? And is it even legal? Read on for answers to all these questions.

What are SmartCharts?

You can call SmartCharts “data-driven” or “scalable,” but “interactive” is probably the best description. Instead of a single-scale page showing procedure information, all underlying data has been organized so it’s searchable and reconfigurable. This new option is available for four types of charts:

• Airport diagrams
• Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs)
• Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs)
• Instrument approach procedures

Just as before, charts can be accessed from either the Airports or Charts tabs, but now you’ll see a new drop-down menu to select the chart provider: SmartCharts, FliteCharts (Garmin’s existing FAA chart option), and Jeppesen (if you have an active subscription for Jepp charts). Choose SmartCharts and you’ll see some new icons next to each line, with a climbing airplane representing a departure, a descending airplane representing an arrival, a feather flag representing an approach, and a circle representing airport diagrams.

Tapping on a chart brings up the new SmartChart view, and you’ll immediately notice some differences. The text is sharp and multi-colored for easy reading, and zooming in reveals additional detail. It’s a fully interactive chart, just like the VFR or IFR Maps option. (Below: raster chart on left, SmartChart on right.)

Navigating SmartCharts

If it feels like this chart is missing some key elements, don’t panic—you can still access all the information you need to brief and fly the approach by using the buttons along the top of the screen.

Top left

Minimums allows you to select which category your airplane is (based on speed), which minimums line to use (LPV, LNAV, Circling, etc.), and any adjustments to be made (runway lighting out of service, remote altimeter setting, etc.).

Transition is set to All by default, so you can see the full procedure. Once you have a transition (an initial approach fix or Vectors), you can choose that for a simplified view.

Details shows communication frequencies, runway length, general notes, and expiration dates.

The feather icon brings up a profile view of the procedure, showing altitudes, glideslope angle, and even terrain. Also note that this view is geo-referenced, so you can watch your airplane fly down the approach in flight.

Top right

COMs offers a quick-access window with essential frequencies for the selected approach, including ATIS, Approach, and CTAF/Tower.

Brief shows the briefing strip from the top of a traditional approach chart. This includes inbound course, DA/MDA, runway lighting (with a helpful graphic to decode the acronym), runway length, and touchdown zone elevation.

Missed presents a graphical to-do list for flying the missed approach. Climbs, turns, and waypoints are labeled in order for easy interpretation.

Bottom right

NOTAMs will show only the NOTAMs that are relevant to the approach you’re flying, a major convenience at big airports where the list of NOTAMs can be a mile long (meaning you miss a potentially important one). 

If you want to see every last NOTAM, simply tap the text button that appears above the NOTAMs button.

Reset is a great feature that restores the chart to all defaults (transitions, minimums, etc.) and can re-center it too. This is perfect for going back to the starting point if your transition changes or you just want to re-brief the procedure.

Sidebar: our favorite button

Before we go any further, be sure to notice another type of reset button: the blue double-arrow button at the top right of the screen. This is one of our favorite features, and proof that Garmin employs a lot of pilots. Tapping this flip-flop button allows you to instantly go back to the classic raster chart view. So if you’re briefing an approach and can’t find a number, just tap the button to see the traditional chart. It’s the perfect security blanket for transitioning pilots.

Menu options

When viewing a SmartChart, you’ll have the option of either day mode (which uses a mostly white background) or night mode (a mostly black background). This is a nice option: normal mode is easier to read in bright sunlight, while night mode preserves your night vision. Somewhat confusingly, there is also an option to change the entire app theme to light or dark as well, which changes the menus and tab bar instead of the actual chart. We suggest trying all these options to see what you like. To us, night mode on the menus works all the time, but changing the chart back and forth to match the time of day is worth it.

SmartCharts in action

So much for the buttonology of SmartCharts. Let’s look at some examples where this new layout can make a big difference. 

Approaches

What are the minimums for the approach? It seems like a simple question, but it often isn’t. Minimums can be adjusted for all kinds of reasons, from inoperative approach lights to low temperature, and it’s not always obvious when that adjustment is needed. Take the recent high profile crash of a Cessna Citation on approach to San Diego (MYF): it’s obvious from the Minimums section of the SmartChart that this approach cannot be flown at a speed above 120 knots, since the boxes for C, D, and E are blacked out. If the approach lighting is inop, the visibility adjustment is made automatically; if the temperature is below -15, the LNAV/VNAV gets flagged as NA:

Or consider the famous ILS 04R at Boston Logan Airport. If there are ships in the harbor taller than 144 feet, the procedure is not authorized. That is usually buried in a note, but it’s a clear yes/no button on SmartCharts and there’s also a yellow NA note in the profile view:

SmartCharts is also handy for circling approaches. Consider the ILS 19 at Teterboro, which often leads to a circle-to-land on runway 24—a very complicated landing. This procedure prohibits circling northwest of the airport, and Garmin Pilot both draws the protected area for circling (which grows as the approach category increases) and highlights in yellow the area where circling is prohibited. 

Some of the smaller details are also surprisingly helpful. For example, the profile view in SmartCharts shows the descent angle for an LNAV+V approach (one with an advisory glideslope) and also the visual glideslope angle (like a PAPI). In the example below, you’ll note that the VDA is just over 3 degrees, while the PAPI is a much steeper 4 degrees. 

Another small detail: since everything on the chart is to scale, key details can be noticed quickly. Take the Minimum Safe Altitude (MSA) for the ILS 21L at Cincinnati Lunken. It’s within 30nm of the Falmouth VOR, but once that’s drawn on the chart you can see how far that is from the airport. In fact, almost all of the inbound approach is outside that ring.

If you have to fly a missed approach, the Missed pop-up section makes it easy to follow the procedure, with simple, step-by-step instructions presented in graphical form. It even includes the holding pattern entry:

The database-like structure of SmartCharts also means you can view key information in new ways. If you’re trying to land at an airport with bad weather, go to the Airports tab, then Charts, and tap the Show with Minima button. This will sort all the available approaches by either lowest DA/MDA or visibility. You can tell right away that the RNAV 36 below is a better option than RNAV 27.

SIDs and STARs

Departures and arrivals don’t have quite as many features as approach charts, but there are still some great enhancements with SmartCharts. First, every procedure is to scale and geo-referenced, which is not always true for FAA charts. That makes it easy to maintain situational awareness, including with your airplane on the chart while you’re flying.

More importantly, these charts can quickly be decluttered so they are much more readable. Consider the FYTTE 7 arrival to Chicago O’Hare, which requires two pages in the old style chart and is still jammed with notes:

With SmartCharts, you can choose the transition and runway and you’ll only see the fixes you need to fly, eliminating lots of distracting lines and altitudes:

The waypoints are also color-coded for convenience: blue waypoints mean there’s a required altitude, and magenta means there’s a required speed (you can have a split icon that means there is both a speed and altitude).

Zoom in to see the details.

Airport diagrams

The final type of SmartChart is airport diagrams. This is the smallest upgrade, since Garmin has offered SafeTaxi diagrams for many years, a similar product that offers enhanced graphics and notes. Still, there are a few new details to notice. There are detailed hold short lines, windsock locations, and (our favorite) approach lighting. Instead of trying to remember what a ALSF-2 looks like, Garmin just shows it to you—complete with red, white, and green lights.

Airport diagrams also have additional information buttons, just like approach charts. These are a treasure trove of important but often overlooked information. Countless pilots don’t know the airport they’re using even has noise abatement procedures, obstacle departure procedures, or nonstandard alternate minimums. These buttons are the key.

The Details section shows all the nitty gritty, from frequencies to notes. One important section here is noise abatement, which is easy to miss in traditional chart formats.

Runway/DEP is another goldmine of hidden information. You can tap on a runway for details about runway weight limits, markings, and declared distances. Even more important, you can find the often-overlooked departure procedures and takeoff minimums. Tap on the text button for Takeoff Procedures, Obstacles & Minimums to see ODPs, takeoff minimums, and even visual climb over airport (VCOA) procedures.

Finally, tap on Alternate MINs to see what the actual minimums are for using the airport as an IFR alternate—no confusing A symbols. Again, there are simple buttons for adjustments whether the local weather is available or the tower is open.

Is it legal?

Some pilots might find all this reorganizing of approach plates almost sacrilegious, but SmartCharts are absolutely a legal replacement for paper charts. As a refresher, FAR 91.103 is the main regulation concerning airport data, and it specifies only preflight action (it’s shockingly short if you haven’t read it recently).

More helpfully, Advisory Circular 91-78A offers helpful advice about EFBs. The relevant section states that a digital chart is legal as long as it: ”displays only information which is functionally equivalent to the paper reference material which the information is replacing or is substituted for” and ”The interactive or precomposed information being used for navigation or performance planning is current, up to date, and valid, as verified by the pilot.”

For turbine airplanes or Part 135/121 operations, there are more rules to comply with, but SmartCharts are still acceptable.

How to get SmartCharts

If you’re interested in trying SmartCharts, the good news is that it’s pretty easy to try out, whether you use Garmin Pilot or not.

• If you have a Garmin Pilot Premium subscription, you’re all set. Update your app and start using SmartCharts.
• If you have a Garmin Pilot Standard subscription, Garmin is offering Premium for free through August 31 so you can try it out.
• If you’ve never used Garmin Pilot, you can get a 30-day free trial. Even better, all free trials have been reset, so if you’ve ever tried it, you can get a trial again.

SmartCharts are available in the iOS version of the app, with version 25.5 or newer (available now). Almost every airport in the US and the Bahamas has coverage, but you might see a few procedures that don’t have it yet. Those are coming soon, and simply require extra data checks. 

Closing thoughts

SmartCharts is obviously a major new feature—is it enough to break Garmin Pilot out of second place in the EFB contest? Maybe. While ForeFlight still has a number of exclusive features and a very loyal following, this latest update (plus the recently launched Garmin Pilot Web) makes Garmin’s app a strong competitor. 

In particular, if you fly with a full Garmin cockpit or FlightStream, the benefits of Garmin Pilot are significant. For example, if you’re syncing your flight plan from the panel using a FlightStream, the app will auto-load the fixes and procedures in both the active flight plan and in SmartCharts (after all, it knows the transition and runway). You’ll also see a yellow i on the FPL button in the app if the procedure on screen does not match the procedure in the panel, which can easily happen if you pick the wrong transition or runway. It’s an example of how integrating all the avionics in the airplane can really pay off.

Add to that the ability to see engine data in the app (if you have a Garmin EIS in the panel) and some fairly sophisticated data logging options, and you have a fully integrated iPad and glass cockpit. If you have done some avionics upgrades lately, it might be time to take another look at Garmin Pilot. A Premium subscription costs $209.98/year, which includes full SmartCharts features. That’s a remarkable value considering all the features.

To learn more, check out Garmin’s series of videos on SmartCharts: