Garmin adds global components to flight planning apps

New features for Apple mobile devices include new Eurocontrol autorouting and flight plan filing, making it easier for pilots to “fly throughout complex European airspaces,” Garmin said in a news release.

The update offers wireless transfer of Jeppesen charts via Flight Stream 510 connectivity; easy access to winds aloft data; configurable radar color tables; and a split-screen mode for using the scratch pad, Garmin said.

The new features and coverage for Android devices become available as Garmin Pilot makes its “debut as a comprehensive global navigation application for Android mobile devices, allowing customers to flight plan and view weather products throughout the world within the app.”

Updated capabilities include navigation “throughout the world, including flight planning, global weather information, VFR flight plan filing,” and other additions, Garmin said. Global weather information includes METARs, TAFs, airmets, sigmets, notams, and winds aloft.

The app’s FastFind feature “incorporates predictive logic to suggest airports and waypoints" in the geographic vicinity of the aircraft, Garmin said.

The update offers European Visual Reporting Points that can be overlaid on a moving map and included in flight plans for navigation throughout Europe.

“As we continue to pack more features and capabilities into Garmin Pilot, we’re excited to provide our customers around the world with a premier application that they can utilize throughout every phase of flight,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin vice president of aviation sales and marketing.

“As our global customer base continues to grow, we are excited to further expand worldwide flight planning capabilities, navigation and global weather coverage alongside game-changing integration, wireless connectivity and superior situational awareness tools so Garmin Pilot customers have access to the information they need to make the best informed decisions on the ground and in-flight.”

For more information, visit the Garmin website.

In other Garmin product developments, Textron Aviation announced at AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany the introduction of its Cessna Skylane 182 and Turbo Skyhawk 172 JT-A equipped with the next-generation Garmin G1000 NXi avionics platform, joining other manufacturers that have incorporated the glass-cockpit technology into piston aircraft lines.