Plan, File and Fly Easier with Garmin Pilot, Android 4.0

I vividly recall sitting down with my flight instructor for the first time and discussing cross-country flight planning. We grabbed a pencil, flight log, Airport Facility Directory (AFD), E6B, a paper sectional, the weather information for our departure/destination and a calculator (Did I mention the kitchen sink? We may have grabbed that, too) Two-and-a-half hours later, my head was spinning as I looked all of these papers, charts and devices and wait – I still had to go flying? I was convinced flight planning was awful, next to weight and balance… and yes, I still had to complete a weight and balance calculation for my cross-country flight.

Remind me why flying is enjoyable again, please? 

Fast forward ten years and pilots have access to all of this information (and more!) within Garmin Pilot on a portable mobile device. We are thrilled to provide pilots with some new flight planning features and new product integration capabilities with the latest Garmin Pilot update for Android.

Airport Facility Directory (AFD)

One of the most useful tools throughout any pilot’s flight planning is an Airport Facility Directory (AFD). By visiting the Airport Browser on an Android tablet or phone, pilots may now access information such as, pattern altitude, fuel prices, frequency information, facility hours and more! Additionally, the AFD may be downloaded by region.

Alternate Flight Condition Colors

Because weather interpretation is an important part of planning any flight, we’ve added pilot-selectable flight condition colors to Android 4.0 within Garmin Pilot. These flight condition colors offer pilots an at-a-glance analysis of the conditions at any airport based on the METAR flag coloring. Pilots may choose between the following:

Standard METAR colors: 

• VFR – Blue
• MVFR – Green
• IFR – Yellow
• LIFR – Red

Alternate colors used by NOAA:

• VFR – Green
• MVFR – Blue
• IFR – Red
• LIFR – Magenta

Simply select ‘Alternative’ under ‘Flight Condition Colors’ within General Settings in Garmin Pilot to select your preferred color set.

SD Card Storage

With Version 4.0 for Android, pilots may now store data such as flight plans, charts and navigation information on an SD card. With this feature, data can be stored on the SD card as opposed to the internal memory of the tablet or phone.

GDL 39 Bluetooth Connectivity

Improvements made to Bluetooth connectivity between Android devices and the GDL 39/GDL 39 3D, are available by updating Garmin Pilot to version 4.0.

To update the GDL 39 firmware:

• Connect the GDL 39 to Garmin Pilot
• Select ‘Home’ > ‘Connext’ > ‘GDL 39’
• Select ‘Update Firmware’

Be sure the GDL 39 is connected to external power during the update process.

Flight Stream Integration

With the Android 4.0 update, pilots may soon be able to integrate Flight Stream, to enable communication between select Garmin avionics and Garmin Pilot. Flight Stream is a small Bluetooth wireless transceiver that is wired directly to Garmin avionics. Flight Stream is compatible with the GDL 88, GDL 69/A, GTN 650/750, GNS WAAS navigators and G3X Touch. For more information regarding Flight Stream capabilities and additional Connext services, visit: www.garmin.com/connext.

The latest Garmin Pilot update for Android includes a lot of great features, which make flight planning a breeze! And I promise unlike my pre-private pilot days, you won’t be staring at a number of books and charts wondering, “Where do I start?” The choice is easy – start with Garmin Pilot to Plan, File and Fly! 

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