Garmin's New Aera 796

Here's a closer look at what Garmin's new touch screen portable brings to the table.

To navigate around the 796, you hit the home button and select the tool you want to use, and you’re on your way. A departure from the traditional chapters and pages approach, the main menu system cuts keystrokes (or touches) very substantially while providing an easy way to find your way out of a submenu.

For VFR pilots who are comfortable with traditional charts, the 796 has scanned sectionals. As you can see here, the resolution on the images is excellent, and you can choose to superimpose weather images, such as Nexrad or cloud cover, on the chart, as well as keep track of your course and flight plan.

In portrait mode, the 796 makes an ideal yoke-mounted display for approach or en route charts, as shown here. The map is interactive. Touch a waypoint in most map screens and info on it pops right up. When it’s time to fly the approach, you can pull up that chart with a couple of touches as well.

You can customize the screen on the map page by adding the 3-D vision screen above it. As always when you’re in map mode, your options are laid out along the bottom. A single touch gets you weather or terrain or waypoint information.

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Flying StaffEditor

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