Garmin Aera 5xx

Does anyone have one of these yet?

I have a Garmin Nuvi for my car and my understanding is these share the same basic chassis. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on these units?

(Been thinking of getting one for the trip to Sun 'N Fun...)

Haven't flown with my Nuvi yet, but I did find this web site.

I haven't downloaded the map yet - been too busy with other things.

If you decide to try this - let us know how it works out.



Well - i can't really answer that question - It appears? that it loads sectional type maps into the Nuvi. How detailed they are and how much information is on them - I just don't know.

Like I said, I haven't tried it yet - I was hoping maybe you'd take the "chance" and load it up and see what it looks like:eek: :D

I bought a 2 gig card for my Nuvi the other day - so maybe I'll try to load this up and see what it looks like. If I do - I'll let you know how it looks.

Regards
Rodney

** see note below

Rodney-- What is this? Is it a plug-in for the street based Nuvi to make it into a Aera-like aviation unit? I don't follow the website you linked to...

OK - I went ahead and downloaded their "trial" version. You can find it in the FAQ section. You can't use it for navigation, but you can look at it what it does.

I got to play with it a little last night - so this is by no means an exhaustive evaluation. However, having said that - I'm going to buy a years subscription and try it out.

I have a Nuvi 765T - and what it does is add a map to the two garmin maps all ready on the Nuvi. You can then go in and select the GMapAir map to show on the screen in addition to the regular maps.

What I could see from a quick review was that it put, for example, the Dallas Class B airspace on the map - very easy to see. Could I avoid that airspace using the Nuvi - I think very easily. It also had the MOA's close to my home airport marked.

Since I just got the Nuvi - I'm still trying to make friends with it - it does appear that you can use the "Off Road" function to plot courses direct from one point to another.

So far, I'm thinking in terms of a good backup to a GPS made for aerial navigation. I've been using AnywhereMap for several years on a PDA and it is sufficient for my needs - however I'm thinking putting in the Nuvi would be a good backup.

Due to work, I'm probably not going to get to fly for the next 6 weeks. I'll try to download the real version today - and maybe get to play with it some more tonight. For 32 bucks anything that may improve my situational awareness is probably worth the $$.

***Just talked to a friend at the airport, and we made a tentative date to go flying Wed after work to give this a real time test.

I'll let you know more later.

Regards
Rodney

Av8r3400 - I got to go out last night in a friends 150 and while he was flying I played around with the Nuvi 765T with the GMapAir installed.

First of all, we did 90 degree turns, 180's, and S-turns to see how well the Nuvi responded to heading changes. In all cases the the Nuvi map responded very well with smooth updates. No jerky or twitchy screens.

I have a 12 year old Garmin 2610, and I suspect the processor is not fast enough because the map screen is very twitchy and can flip-flop 90 degrees sometimes - even in straight flight. None of that on the Nuvi.

Will the GMapAir software replace a dedicated aviation GPS? In my mind the answer is no. My Anywhere Map and I'm sure the other Garmin products have a wealth of information, like frequency's, airport diagrams, closest airports, etc that this software does not not provide. That is the hard part for me to evaluate. My friend, whom I went flying with, only uses his 150 for flying locally around our airport. He really liked the unit and it would be satisfactory for local flying - but I'm thinking that for cross country - for me at least - I would spend the extra $$ and get a GPS set up for aviation.

As advertised, it basically takes the automotive maps, and then draws on the screens MOA's, Class B and C airspace.

I occasionally like to fly from Hugo OK (KHHW) to Maurey Country (KMRC) which is just south of Nashville,Tn. When I draw a straight line between the two, it runs smack dab through Memphis Class B Airspace.

Flying VFR, I make every attempt to avoid Class B airspace. Using the Nuvi with the GMapAir software, it is very easy to see the Class B airspace and avoid it.

So is it worth 32 bucks a year. I can't answer that for everyone, and wouldn't want to, but for me, I think it definitely is.

I think it will make a great back-up unit. Plus, when you zoom out - in 2D view, it has a nice topographical look to the screen.

What it does provide is situational awareness. I could use the Nuvi along with Sectional charts, and do a nice job of cross-country flying. I am also assuming that before you take off, one has done a proper flight plan - not just jumped in the airplane and fired up the engine.

As I think about this, I have to laugh a little bit. When I started flying, an airplane with two VOR's and a DME was the cat's meow. My son started flying about three years ago, and has known nothing but the luxury of having a GPS in the cockpit.

One can set the Nuvi in the "off road" function, and it will draw a straight line from your present position to the destination you select. In this way, it calculates such things as: time to destination, miles to destination, ground speed. It also gives you elevation (which was surprizingly accurate by the way - only 4 feet higher than our actual airport elevation).

There might be one other advantage to having the Nuvi in the airplane. My wife is contantly asking me "What city is that off to the right?", "What lake is that?" , "How long till we land?" etc - can anybody relate:p?????

By having the Nuvi available, she can play with it all she wants to, and leave me alone



Regards
Rodney

I bought a Garmin Aera 500 at Sun 'n Fun. $799 very well spent. This is the most amazing piece of technology I have ever worked with. Very intuitive in operation and generally awesome. I used it to navigate all the way back to Wisconsin without a hitch.

A couple of buttons and the unit turns into a Nuvi auto-GPS.

I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a GPS. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!