Garmin GPS 90
Good things, it is said, come in small packages. This could mean, depending upon your fortunes, an envelope full of diamonds, a postcard from the IRS apologizing for all the trouble, or a jewel box containing the keys to a new airplane. On a less profligate level, maybe you'll be pleased by the arrival of a Garmin 90 GPS.
Now Garmin, an aggressive constructor of all things GPS, has fired into the field a .22-caliber shot heard 'round the block. Garmin has broken the size barrier with the new GPS 90, managing to cram every feature found in its more full-figured GPS 95XL (moving map included) into a package the size of a handheld cellular telephone.
Most amazing about this incredible shrinking navigator, though, is that it trades virtually nothing in utility. The map, though only about 80 percent of the size of the 95's, remains sharp and easily read from yoke distance away. Moreover, it is now vertically oriented, which provides a better view of what's directly ahead of the airplane. A pan function allows you to take a peek at either margin without re-scaling the map itself, a clever feature.
Garmin provides 12 screen ranges, which show from the top of the screen to the bottom, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 240, and 320 miles. (The distance unit changes, depending upon the one selected by the user: nautical mile, statute mile, or kilometer.) For the most part, the ranges are where we like them; the smaller scales are sufficient to place the airplane accurately among multiple runways, for example. However, we think the memory and processing power used for the upper ranges would be better served by employing 30- and 60-mile ranges. As it is, you're often faced with a short-range screen that doesn't show you everything you'd like, but the next-higher range clutters the display excessively. And, especially in areas of dense airspace features, the longest ranges are, for all intents and purposes, useless. Yes, you can de-clutter the screen by removing depictions of airspace, airports, or navaids, but the function is hidden at least four key-presses away in a submenu. More intermediate ranges would be a more elegant solution, we believe.
So conclude our complaints with the 90's map. Otherwise, it's a winner. Restricted areas, prohibited areas, and military operations areas are depicted clearly, as are Class B and Class C airspace. You get more than just the outlines, too — all the inner rings and steps are clearly shown. The effective altitudes of the airspace are not depicted, however; to display them would really foul up what is otherwise a very clean and orderly screen presentation.
In addition to the special-use airspace, the 90 will show airports, navaids, and enroute intersections. It's amazing that such a small device can hold so comprehensive a database. Airports in the database come with information on communications frequencies, fuel availability, elevation, runway specifics, and (though not for all) runway diagrams. We're waiting for some enterprising hacker to include taxiways and their designators, and the coordinates of the best restaurants in town. Don't laugh; it can't be far away.
In moving to a smaller apparatus, Garmin has had to abandon the numeric keypad used in the 95 and 55 models. Fortunately, it's not a great loss. Now you get six dedicated keys and a four-button cursor pad. For the most part, it's a simple task to enter waypoint IDs, since holding down a cursor button makes the machine scroll rapidly through the alphabet and there's no auto-find feature to second-guess you. We found that inserting waypoints came naturally with very little practice. One small nit: The characters are quite tiny on the flight-plan page, and you have to really pay attention to keep from entering a V when you want a U, for instance. Also, since many North American airports have, by dint of the Jeppesen database, a K prefix, we'd like to see Garmin copy a feature used by Bendix/King that defaults the first character to K. It would save a heap of button punching. Incidentally, the 90 will hold 20 flight plans of up to 30 waypoints each.
Garmin has kept the on-screen architecture simple on the 90, to good effect. You scroll through the various screens by using the Page and Quit keys. Think of the Page button as the one that takes you forward in the queue, and the Quit key as the one that takes you back a step. Starting at the map page, the next in line is an information page showing the waypoint selected, the distance and bearing to it, the airplane's ground track and speed, cross track error, estimated time enroute, current time, and vertical-navigation information. (Remember when we'd be happy if a navigator showed even this much?) Next in line is the flight-plan page, unless you don't have one activated, followed by the main menu. Just beyond is the satellite information page, which shows the orientation of the sats, signal strength, receiver mode, estimated altitude, and battery strength. Another nav page comes behind the sat status display, and it includes track, speed, a pseudo compass, current position, altitude, and time.
Back to the main menu for a mo-ment. Garmin has applied excellent logic to the various menus, making navigation of them a simple task. In fact, we hardly cracked the book in our time with the 90. Within the variety of menus are provisions for changing the map configuration, setting alarms, making E6-B-type calculations, and figuring winds aloft.
A few other buttons warrant mention. As is typical, the 90 has a one-step direct-to key (labeled Goto/Nrst) that gives you instant access to the database for a new destination. Press that button a second time, and the 90 will show you the nine nearest airports, navaids, intersections, and user waypoints. It'll also give you information on the nearest plots of special-use airspace.
We found the 90's scanning GPS engine, which can track up to eight satellites, to be quick to acquire and very stable. Even using the lipstick-sized antenna directly on the unit, we managed to get satellite lock in a variety of airplanes from the yoke-mounted position. A short extension cord with suction-cup mount allows its remote positioning. With the unit Garmin provides a yoke mount that, compared to the svelte 90 itself, is a bit clunky. It comes with a power/data cable intended to be hard-wired into the airplane; a cigarette lighter adapter is optional.
With any other unit, we'd complain bitterly about the lighter-socket omission. But Garmin claims 15 hours on a set of four AA batteries, and we were somewhat amazed to find that is a realistic number if you invoke the 90's battery saver feature. Even without this power-saving step and frequent use of the single-level backlighting, we managed better than eight hours from a set of alkalines. Like the Energizer bunny, the Garmin just kept going and going.
Finally, as if to prove that good things in small packages don't have to be expensive, Garmin has pegged the 90's list price at $799. We have seen discount prices just under $700; for comparison, the larger Garmin 95XL lists for $1,200. Given the choice, we'd take the 90 in a heartbeat.
For more information, contact Garmin International, 9875 Widmer Road, Lenexa, Kansas 66125; telephone 913/599-1515, fax 913/599-2103. — Marc E. Cook
Kornor Charts
Get a weather briefing from DUAT, or even from a human at flight service, and chances are you'll really have to put the imagination to use. That's because weather advisories like sigmets, convective sigmet, and airmets are plotted by reference to a slew of reporting stations around the country. You might see, for instance, the following: "AIRMET TURBC . . . FROM EKO TO SLC TO ALS TO ELP TO 60S TUS TO 30E SAN TO FAT TO EKO . . . OCNL MDT TURBC BLO 150." Most of us can imagine many of the coordinates, like Salt Lake City, Tucson, and San Diego. But . . . sheesh, where are EKO and ALS?
If you had a Kornor Enterprises In-Flight Weather Advisory Chart, you would know in seconds where Elko, Nevada, and Alamosa, Colorado, are, and how the airmet or sigmet impacts your planned flight. How so? The Kornor products are the soul of simplicity. The In-Flight chart, for example, is merely a laminated 8.5-inch by 11-inch map of the U.S. with state boundaries and reporting points for airmets and sigmets depicted. Want to outline the sigmet? Just reach for the supplied marking pen and trace it out. Since only the stations mentioned in the sigmet or airmet are shown, you don't have to spend nearly as much time hunting for the station as you would with, say, a sectional or enroute chart.
Kornor has other products in the same vein. The weather plotting/locator charts are the same size as the In-Flight chart but show all airports that report manned surface observations and terminal forecasts. (They do not show airports with AWOS or ASOS reporting equipment, however.) The locator charts separate the country into quadrants. A wall-size, 36-inch by 24-inch version of the weather plotting chart is also available.
Kornor's wares cost $9.95 each for the durable smaller charts, $35.95 for the set of four weather plotting charts, and $24.95 for the wall chart. We like the implementation of this almost outrageously simple idea.
For more information, contact Kornor Enterprises, 30314 Euclid Ave, Wickliffe, Ohio 44072; telephone 216/944-9672. Kornor charts are also available from Sporty's Pilot Shop; telephone 800/SPORTYS. — MEC
Briefly Noted
If you can't get enough of aviation at the airport, the Hunter Fan Company of Peoria, Illinois, is offering a 48-inch Snoopy ceiling fan. Snoopy and his biplane come on a light-weight applique that mounts between the fan and ceiling. It can be attached to smooth or textured ceilings. Its three wood-and-aluminum blades resem-ble propellers and are designed to circulate air in rooms up to 225 square feet. The fan costs $199. To find a Hunter fan dealer, call 901/745-9222, or write Hunter Fan Company, Post Office Box 3900, Peoria, Illinois 61614. — Alton K. Marsh
Sporty's Pilot Shop's sheepskin seat covers are now available in 18 colors in addition to the natural color. The one-inch thick, custom-fit seat covers are sold in pairs only for $375 and fit most Aero Commander, Beech, Cessna, and Piper aircraft. For more information, call Sporty's Pilot Shop at 800/SPORTYS. — Peter A. Bedell
Unless otherwise stated, products listed herein have not been evaluated by AOPA Pilot editors. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors. However, members unable to get satisfaction regarding products listed should advise AOPA. To submit products for evaluation, contact: New Products Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701; telephone 301/695-2350.
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