GPS purchase options

[Willborne]

Hi All,

 

Need some advice regarding a suitable GPS to fit into a Tecnam Echo (panel mounted preferably). My budget is around $1800. I've been looking at the Garmin 495, anyone using one of these at the moment? I'm a low hour pilot and will be flying navs from Lismore to Gympie and back. Working out a few alternative tracks coastal and western.

 

Any advice appreciated

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

I don't think you could go past the Aera 550 which includes 12 months subscription to NavData updates (update cycle is 28 days), 1 free terrain update and 1 free road maps update. You can also use it in the car, on a bike or walking. It has 9 arc second terrain map which is many times the resolution of prior GPS units.

 

You can mount the "mount" on a panel and then just clip it in and out of the mount as needed. See photo of it installed in my trike.

 

If you are looking for something that actually installs in the panel, your budget is a bit low. As posted elsewhere in these forums, the 496 has reached end of model and when stocks run out the Aera is the more recent model. One might suppose that would mean a price drop by Christmas or in early months of next year, but my crystal ball is a bit hazy .

 

If you search this site, you will find plenty of discussions on relative merits of different models and GPS units. Some people are happy, it seems, to use hiking GPS units and others that are not designed for aviation and therefore lack the useful features such as terrain, airspace and data on ADs which often includes frequencies, PAL, runways and circuit directions. Obviously you need to do some research yourself and determine what will be best suited to your purpose.

 

 

[Admin]

Willbourne, there are several to choose from:

 

GPS :: GPS Units - Recreational Flying Discount Pilot Supplies

 

Each one has its own bells and whistles so can I suggest you make a small list of features in order of importance like:

 

Overall Size

 

Screen Size

 

Buttons or Touch Screen etc etc etc

 

That may help to narrow it down a bit. I personally favour the larger screens as I have found it easier for me to be able to focus quicker from having my eyes looking outside (distance) to glancing at a GPS (close up).

 

 

[Dieselten]

Garmin 495 is my "go-to" for an aviation GPS - a real aviation GPS, that is. It's in your budget and you won't regret buying one.