Major Update to Garmin’s Pilot App Incorporates Pro IFR Tools

The Garmin Pilot app for Apple iOS mobile devices was already a robust and mature product that delivered the kind of exceptional navigation information pilots expect from one of the avionics industry’s leaders. But as the company demonstrates in improvements to their flight deck product line, Garmin is never satisfied with the status quo, and it has released a major update to the Pilot app that now incorporates the same level of professional IFR navigation tools found within Garmin avionics.

With the update, pilots can expect a near-seamless transition between Garmin avionics and the Garmin Pilot app when performing common functions, such as loading and activating instrument approach procedures, departures and arrivals, adding vertical information to flight plans and building custom holding patterns on the fly.

“Leveraging technologies found within Garmin avionics and flight decks, we’re excited to bring this game-changing update to Garmin Pilot customers,” said Carl Wolf, vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “This upgrade gives pilots the ability to load complex routes and procedures into the app just as they would within a Garmin integrated flight deck, offering added convenience, time savings, and confidence when transitioning between multiple Garmin products in the cockpit.”

This update to the Garmin Pilot app continues to take advantage of Connext, Garmin’s flight deck connectivity technology. “As it pertains to this release of the app, pilots are afforded several advantages with Connext, such as the option to now wirelessly transfer instrument approach procedures, departures and arrivals from the app to Connext-capable Garmin avionics, or through use of our optional Flight Stream 210 or Flight Stream 510 products," a Garmin spokesperson said. “Previously, pilots could only transfer flight plans, but now, a pilot can upload virtually his/her flight entire flight plan the moment the avionics are powered on, saving time and money.”

Some of the new features added to the Garmin Pilot app with this update include:

Professional IFR navigation tools: Within the latest Garmin Pilot upgrade, pilots have the option to load or activate departures, arrivals and instrument approach procedures. Published holds that are included as part of the missed approach are also added to the flight plan. When pilots activate a procedure with published altitude constraints, those altitudes are automatically incorporated into a flight plan within the app. Pilots can also choose to manually add altitude constraints into a flight plan.

Vertical Planning: Using the vertical planning feature within Garmin Pilot, pilots can more easily input and adhere to crossing restrictions in a flight plan. For example, pilots can manually input a crossing restriction over a specific navigational aid or GPS waypoint. With these new features, pilots can optimize their flight planning and fuel calculations.

Visual procedure selector: Pilots can now more easily visualize departures, arrivals and instrument approach procedures prior to a flight using the visual procedure selector. This new selector allows pilots to simultaneously view departures, approaches or arrivals on a map alongside a flight plan so it’s easier to visualize and select the most appropriate procedure based on a flight plan and intended direction of flight.

Customized holding procedures: Pilots now have the flexibility to easily build customized holding patterns. These holds may be created over an existing fix or over a user-defined waypoint and then inserted into a flight plan. When creating a hold, pilots can easily input an inbound or outbound course, select left or right turns and specify leg length in time or distance. Unpublished holds or those assigned by air traffic control are easily created and displayed within Garmin Pilot to simplify the process of visualizing and flying a holding pattern.

The newest release of Garmin Pilot on Apple mobile devices is available immediately in the Apple App Store. For new customers, Garmin Pilot is available as a free download for the first 30 days. After the 30-day trial period, customers may purchase an annual subscription of Garmin Pilot starting at $79.99.

Garmin also announced this week that it received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for the GFC 500 autopilot in more models of the Piper PA-28, PA-32 as well as selected models of the Cessna 177.