Lucy’s Logbook: How to freshen up your avionics

With the unofficial beginning of summer behind us, it’s officially time to break out the sunscreen, fill the inflatable pools, and finish those dreaded spring cleaning chores. But if I may, might I suggest adding to your list for spring-related chores?

This time of year is a great time to update your avionics, both certified and portable. Our flyGarmin website offers a whole host of supplemental databases that complement your flying needs, whether they include regularly flying for business or attending the occasional weekend fly-in.

Jeppesen’s navigation database is available on flyGarmin for our entire aviation product line. NavData is the database utilized when inputting your flight plan into your Garmin GPS. Information such as airport identifiers, navigational aids, intersections, and airspace information are all included in this important database.

Garmin FliteCharts are also available for purchase and download on flyGarmin.  FliteCharts allow pilots to display the government instrument procedure charts right on their Garmin avionics. An updated charts database also has the technology to geo-reference your aircraft position right on the approach chart, enhancing situational awareness in unfamiliar environments. It is important to note that depending on the size and display of your Garmin navigator, FliteCharts are not available for every unit.

An obstacle database is available as an optional download for many of our aviation products. Simply put, the obstacle database may be loaded to your GPS and will display man-made obstacles 200 feet AGL (above ground level) or greater.

Terrain is also available and enhances the safety of any flight. The terrain database consists of all non-man made features such as mountains. Alerts may be set up on many of our aviation products, which notify pilots of potential threats as they relate to either obstacle or terrain.

Airport Directory may be uploaded to many of our avionics which is just as good as having the Airport Facility Directory on board! The airport directory database offers information such as ATC tower hours of operation, traffic pattern altitudes, pertinent communication and navigation frequencies, as well as names and phone numbers of thousands of FBO’s at airports around the world.

SafeTaxi features a geo-referenced airport diagram right on many of our Garmin aviation GPS devices. This is helpful at busy and unusual airport layouts, as SafeTaxi will aid in your awareness and offer an additional level of safety.

Just in time for the summer flying season, these updates may be performed on any PC operating Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 or 8. Adding to the convenience of the database update process, flyGarmin has also been Mac compatible for over three years! The latest database pricing is listed by product on our database price sheet along with the database cycle, which can both be found on flyGarmin.

While I hate to add to your list of spring-cleaning chores, you’ll be thankful you have a fresh update in your avionics next time you receive an odd departure procedure or taxi clearance. And when you do, don’t forget to thank Lucy!

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