Perhaps this has been mentioned before, but what are you thoughts on the the Garmin Pilot app?

I have used it a bit on my cross country from WI to CO and I feel it's a nice little backup app for a reasonable price. All the basic info one needs and I like how simple it is to use. Just press on a icon/area and it brings up all the info related. Really easy to use in flight. Display, Wx and TFR's are great. I also like how you can chose which charts to download (Sectionals/Hi/Low/A/FD), this helps reduce the memory used on my phone. No bugs from what I saw and it uses the Jeppesen Database.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 15856.html

Free 30 day trial download found here:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/garmin- ... d340917615
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... igcy.pilot

I tried Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight for over 20 hours in my Maule, as well as in a Boeing at work.

For me, ForeFlight was superior and much more user intuitive than Garmin Pilot.

I really wanted to like the Garmin Pilot App as I have a Garmin GTN-750 and Garmin 796 in the Maule, but ForeFlight is so well thought out with amazing customer support it won me over.

Foreflight, hands down.

MTV

For the same price, I believe Foreflight offers quite a bit more. It's only downfall is the memory issue. If you are using it on your phone it will definitely eat up some memory, but if you have an IPAD or something with some room, it has all the information that you need for flight. A/FD, low and high charts, approach plates, maps of airports, weather, TFR's, ability to file flight plans, pilot briefings, WX, Icing levels, winds aloft, everything you need for flight planning.

http://www.foreflight.com/ipad/

I have not used the Garmin and it looks ok. I would say the best feature about it is the ability to select what to download, but for the same price I would go with Foreflight which offers you everthing.

If you're an android user check out Avare. It's free.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... vare&hl=en

If you do a search on Foreflight vs Wing-x vs Garmin for the iPad, there are a whole lot of varying strong opinions. It is likely worth your while to read up on the pros vs cons on each one.
Also the pilot forums cover things the reviews don't, but watch the dates of the posts since it is a horse race and positions/features get added regularly to the competing offerings.

Littlecub wrote:If you do a search on Foreflight vs Wing-x vs Garmin for the iPad, there are a whole lot of varying strong opinions. It is likely worth your while to read up on the pros vs cons on each one.
Also the pilot forums cover things the reviews don't, but watch the dates of the posts since it is a horse race and positions/features get added regularly to the competing offerings.

If it says Garmin it's going to cost you!! Maybe not now, but in the next year or so you will have to pay more or some thing.
My 696 costs round #s $700 a year to keep up with #149 from FF!!
SO it has 3 year old data in it and I use the FF ap on my mini for the current stuff??
I have been a Garmin fan since they first brought out there GPS, never had a different kind until FF came out on the Ipad!!
Had XM weather for a couple of years!! Now for a 10 months worth of XM you can get it on your Ipad for good!!
Now just keep the 696 until it croaks!!

Thanks for the replies.

I own nothing Apple, so Foreflight and WingX are out. I would like to put something on my Android phone as a backup (to my backup) and Garmin Pilot looked appealing. Thanks Svanarts for the Avare info, I'll look into it (hard to beat free).

And yes, it looks like Garmin will try to nickle and dime you for more features, but the basic app is fine for my needs.

Hey Matt - I downloaded it and used it for a few hours. I'm so used to Foreflight, I couldn't get past the interface on the Garmin app. I think with the garmin, it is pretty easy to move flight plans from device to device. I didn't use it long enough to figure that part out. I am looking for a 2nd commuter plane, and it will have newer Garmin avionics. I'll probably have to take the plunge then and go all Garmin (and let them rape, pillage and plunder my wallet).

My Maule is equipped with a 430w, a 250xl, a 396 in the yoke and a mount for my iPad and iPhone (both with Foreflight). If I get lost, it's because I'm an idiot (which, most of the time I am).

Cheers!

Jim

svanarts wrote:If you're an android user check out Avare. It's free.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... vare&hl=en

Just checked out Avare. Nice! Not as many features as Foreflight/WingX/GarminPilot, but a great FREE back-up for simple VFR nav.

I'm also in the same boat only having a Android phone. I do have an IPAD, but often times don't always have it in the plane. Worth noting is the data on my panel mounted 696 is supplemented by the Garmin GDL39 which provides additional GPS signal, Weather, and Traffic input. There are quite a few android flight planning/moving map applications available, but for me it makes sense to utilize the capabilities of the GDL39 with Garmin Pilot via bluetooth to my phone.

I have been using Foreflight for a year now and really like it. I will be changing to Garmin Pilot when my subscription expires. While not an issue for 99% of the pilots, Foreflight does not go south of the border, Garmin does. I really do not use it much in the cockpit, except as backup. I do use it a lot for flight planning and briefing. Foreflight does Canada, but no Central America. Garmin does worldwide.

BTW, it is not Garmin nickel and diming you to death, It is Jeppson. They are and have always been vastly overpriced, it is the same on my Aspen unit, the Jeppson SV obstacle database is absurdly priced.

I test drove most of them out there a year ago and ended up with Fore Flight. I too am a Garmin fan, but at that time they didn't offer a track up feature. I believe now they do. I did like the ability to split the screen. In the end, Fore Flight was the obvious leader out there and, my company came out with a discount on it, so that sealed the deal. I'm not sure with the others, but with FF you can load it on to two devices per subscription. I've put it on Dee's mini as a back up.

Before my iPad that I got last year for Christmas, I had little exposure to Apple. I know some are hesitant to switch, but there products work they way they are supposed to, aren't glitchy like my android phone, and I've absolutely loved my iPad. When my phone dies, there is no question I'll go with an iPhone. They just work. So, if you come to the point of thinking of adding a tablet to the cockpit, I'd suggest making the jump. Like Carey said, it's one stop shopping for preflight and flight needs. Oh, and movies on the second iPad are a big hit with the kids! (with audio piped into the intercom).

GSP, You truly have the ideal "soccer dad" airplane suv. 100% envious.

Im really hoping that Foreflight comes out on Android devices. Unlike you GSP, I've had terrible luck with any apple products, and would have a very hard time buying an IPad... I am going to try Avare. Sounds neat.

I have found Naviator to be pretty fabulous. My only issue is it doesn't include the supplemental material (non-AFD) from the Alaska Supplement. At least not that I can find. Everything else about it is a home run, and it includes worldwide data.

A1Skinner wrote:Im really hoping that Foreflight comes out on Android devices.

It never will. It would be a complete rewrite of a very complex product for a more difficult to program platform that generates extremely little revenue. There may be a lot of android devices in the world, but they generally seem to be owned by people who won't pay for apps. There is a reason the best stuff *tends* to be available on IOS, software development isn't free.

rw2 wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:Im really hoping that Foreflight comes out on Android devices.

It never will. It would be a complete rewrite of a very complex product for a more difficult to program platform that generates extremely little revenue. There may be a lot of android devices in the world, but they generally seem to be owned by people who won't pay for apps. There is a reason the best stuff *tends* to be available on IOS, software development isn't free.

+1… Truer words have never been spoken!

jaudette wrote:

rw2 wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:Im really hoping that Foreflight comes out on Android devices.

It never will. It would be a complete rewrite of a very complex product for a more difficult to program platform that generates extremely little revenue. There may be a lot of android devices in the world, but they generally seem to be owned by people who won't pay for apps. There is a reason the best stuff *tends* to be available on IOS, software development isn't free.

+1… Truer words have never been spoken!

I just confirmed this with ForeFlight customer service.

-------------------------------------------------

Hello Rob,

ForeFlight Mobile runs exclusively on Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, iTouch).

We have no plans for an Android version of ForeFlight at this time.

Let us know if there is anything else we can do for you!

Janessa Mehalko
ForeFlight Pilot Support
ForeFlight LLC

----------------------------------------------------

MAU MAU wrote:

jaudette wrote:

rw2 wrote:[quote="A1Skinner"]Im really hoping that Foreflight comes out on Android devices.

It never will. It would be a complete rewrite of a very complex product for a more difficult to program platform that generates extremely little revenue. There may be a lot of android devices in the world, but they generally seem to be owned by people who won't pay for apps. There is a reason the best stuff *tends* to be available on IOS, software development isn't free.

+1… Truer words have never been spoken!

I just confirmed this with ForeFlight customer service.

-------------------------------------------------

Hello Rob,

ForeFlight Mobile runs exclusively on Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, iTouch).

We have no plans for an Android version of ForeFlight at this time.

Let us know if there is anything else we can do for you!

Janessa Mehalko
ForeFlight Pilot Support
ForeFlight LLC

----------------------------------------------------[/quote]

Well thats really too bad. I really like that they have canadian charts now, but I have no intentions of buying any apple products in the near future. Wife's MacBook pro just shit the bed.