Ten years ago, Garmin created a new category of portable avionics when it introduced the D2, a pilot watch with a built-in GPS and aviation database. That was followed by a slew of upgraded models, the latest of which hit the market this week. The D2 Mach 1 Pro is Garmin’s largest and most powerful smartwatch yet, and is another node in Garmin’s Connext platform.
Datalink weather has the potential to make your flying safer and more comfortable—but only if you know how to use it properly. Join Air Facts editor John Zimmerman for an in-depth look at ADS-B, SiriusXM, and how to use them in flight with popular iPad apps. Topics include: weather accident trends, five rules of datalink weather, differences between ADS-B and SiriusXM, and real world weather flying scenarios.
One of Garmin Pilot’s standout features is its split-screen mode. While many pilots know how to use split-screen for viewing approach charts or traffic, there are also some valuable tools for weather planning, both before takeoff and during cruise. Here’s how to use the Widgets and Flight Profile features.
Flying to a new airport can be an intimidating experience, but with a little time spent studying ForeFlight you can learn a lot and enjoy a safer arrival at Big City International. This means more than just checking the runway layout and the tower frequency, though; in recent years, a number of new resources have become available. Here are five to check out.
Electronic flight bag apps like ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot have dozens of weather resources, from radar images to icing forecasts, but sometimes these familiar weather products aren’t enough. One tool we’ve recently been using is the WeatherLink app from Davis Instruments. Here’s what it can do.
If you’ve flown with synthetic vision for long, you’ve probably noticed that the speed and altitude don’t match the panel. What’s going on. The answer is pretty simple—the panel and the iPad are showing different data from different sources—but the details are important. Here’s a somewhat geeky dive into the details.
You can do almost everything on your iPad without touching a button—in fact, all the new iPhone and iPad models have removed the home button completely. Whether it’s closing an app, switching apps, opening the control center, or searching for something, iOS has multiple gestures that can save time or unlock additional features.
Charging cables used to be simple: buy one with a Lightning connector and plug it into your iPad. But since the early days of tablets, things have become much more complicated. We’ve recently been flying with some new cables that finally solve this problem, and add some helpful features as well. Here are four things we really like.
The iPad is decidedly middle-aged now, at least for consumer technology, which means there is a busy used market for older tablets. An original iPad, which came out in 2010, can be purchased on eBay for under $50—a great deal, right? Not so fast.
ForeFlight’s Maps page can be a pilot’s best friend, since it’s packed with visual planning tools and helpful information. But for experienced pilots, especially those who file IFR or fly high performance airplanes, the Flights tab offers a wealth of powerful features. Here are six that are often overlooked.
Many new cars now come with remote access capabilities that make it easy to start your Chevrolet’s engine or check your Tesla’s battery level from anywhere, using nothing more than a smartphone app and an LTE connection. Garmin is hoping to bring that same convenience to aviation with its new PlaneSync system. We’ve been testing an early version of it for the last three months in a 2005 Cirrus with a retrofit Garmin glass cockpit. Here’s how it works.
Each year we publish a plain-language review of the FARs and Advisory Circulars pertaining to the use of iPads and electronic flight bags in the cockpit. This is great information for pilots looking to make the transition from paper charts to an iPad, but should also be reviewed by experienced iPad pilots as well.
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