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rwaltman
07-10-2012, 02:16 PM
My KF has an old, bulky and not supported anymore Garmin 95 XL GPS.

For the type of flying I see myself doing, it is more than enough. (It will most likely remain powered down.)

But for the occasional longer trip, I would like something different, where the main requirement is usability by my wife, (whom always gravitates towards the role of navigator in car trips.) A long feature list not only is not needed, it is not wanted.

Any recommendation on an easy to use aviation GPS for an intelligent but technology adverse significant other?

Roberto.

Av8r3400
07-10-2012, 07:22 PM
I am a very vocal fan of my Garmin Aera 500. It is the base model of that series with out weather or extra goodies. I paid $800 for it at Sun 'N Fun in 2010.

I found learning the unit's operation was very intuitive and logical. It is easy to see, even in the bright sunlight of my Kitfox cabin. The touch screen is more user friendly than the x95-x96 series' buttons from my experience.

I have it mounted on a suction cup mount on the panel. If I were to add a gizmo mount it would be even better. (I plan to do this in my project plane, but I'm a coward to cut up my pretty yellow panel in my current plane.)

I still have the Magellen (paperweight pos) in there. It may become a map box soon. It doesn't work due to the last available update being 1997.

mr bill
07-10-2012, 07:29 PM
Recently installed one, very nice display, simple to operate--no more buttons, just a touch screen.

enyaw
07-10-2012, 08:14 PM
Naviator (http://www.naviatorapp.com/) on an Android tablet or phone. If you already have an Android device w/a GPS, it's cheap at $50/yr includes up to date sectionals and airport directory. It has lots of features, but you don't have to use them.

DesertFox4
07-10-2012, 09:04 PM
I had a little time behind a Garmin 500 and found it intuitive and the touch screen performed great.

jtpitkin06
07-10-2012, 10:14 PM
Just about any GPS can be simple and easy by limiting yourself to those functions you wish to use. The simplest of GPS functions are on/off followed by “direct to”. So, if you can turn it on and program a direct course to a fix or airport then you have mastered simple GPS navigation. Ignore the rest of the functions or learn them at your leisure.

My recommendation is to buy what fits your budget and keep it simple. If your old GPS will accept lat/long instead of identifiers or intersections, then there is no need to update anything for VFR navigation. Just plug in the lat/long and go. No database and no subscription fees.

JP

Geowitz
07-11-2012, 05:17 AM
I would agree the Aera 500 is pretty intuitive. The Ifly 700 or 720 is intuitive as well and uses georeferenced charts. Also, now that the Ifly720 is out you can find pretty good deals on used Ifly 700's however the screen isn't as bright.

rwaltman
07-11-2012, 08:28 AM
Just about any GPS can be simple and easy by limiting yourself to those functions you wish to use.

True, but the more functions and/or modes of operation a device has, the easier it is to invoke them accidentally, to find yourself staring at unknown screens without an obvious way out, etc. Particularly for infrequent users...

I am a computer programmer by day, (supposed to thrive in geekery), but more and more often, when using electronic gadgets, I find myself nodding in agreement with Bjarne Stroustrup's quote:
"I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone."

[ For those unfamiliar with the name, he is the computer scientist that created the C++ language, which probably runs inside your GPS, EFIS, etc., and is often criticized as being "too complex" ]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try Naviator first, because I have a little used 7" Android tablet. Will check the Aera and Ifly manuals next.

Roberto.

rwaltman
07-11-2012, 10:27 AM
I still have the Magellen (paperweight pos) in there. ... It doesn't work due to the last available update being 1997...

Same with the Garmin 95XL I'm talking about - Don't know when support was terminated, but updates are definitely not available any more.
I wouldn't say "It doesn't work". As jtpitkin06 pointed out, latitude is still latitude, longitude is still longitude. As long as I can enter waypoints it is still usable, but as a relatively "user hostile" device.

Roberto.

Av8r3400
07-11-2012, 11:22 AM
Mine actually doesn't work. It won't find satillites any more. They must have moved them since '97?

jtpitkin06
07-12-2012, 07:53 AM
True, but the more functions and/or modes of operation a device has, the easier it is to invoke them accidentally, to find yourself staring at unknown screens without an obvious way out, etc. Particularly for infrequent users...


Roberto.

That's why I made the point of mastering your GPS on/off function:D.

My Kitfox has recycled steam gauges, no glass panel and no GPS. I left the fancy boxes parked at the gate when I retired from the airline.

If I can't get there with a sectional, compass and whiz wheel; then, I'm missing the point of flying a low and slow VFR aircraft. ( I now have one of those light blue cards with a hole in it. )

John Pitkin
Greenville, Texas

rwaltman
07-12-2012, 10:53 AM
John, you are preaching to the choir. ;)

Still, I hope I will make some long flights in my slow airplane, where better instruments have a larger effect than in the "normal" $100 hamburger local flight.

It is also a component, (may be only psychological,) in an insurance formula against stuff happening. Another component is my wife learning to land the airplane.
She is not interested in getting a pilot certificate, but we both want her to learn to do good-enough landings.
The long term plan includes starting with a flight simulator at home, followed by lessons with an instructor in a plane more stable than the KF, followed by the KF.
If she ever needs to do that for real, a really easy to use GPS will be a plus.

napierm
07-17-2012, 01:32 PM
The one exception is navigating on the fly to some of these little grass strips we have around here. They are surrounded by trees (flat Georgia), similar looking fields, etc., and if you haven't been there before (or if its been a while) you can fly right over and miss them even with the chart handy. Or at least I can. I've got an old Magellan 315 that had a free aviation DB available for a while. Still relatively up to date so it can still get me there. (BTW, I still have all this stuff so if you can dig up a 315 (cheap) I can give you the DB.)

Otherwise you have to plan ahead, print out coordinates and plug in, etc. Yeah I know, I do usually go on-line and at least check for TFR's to avoid close encounters of the worst kind so I could do all that but it's a time thing.

Still, mostly it is turned off and in the side pocket.

rwaltman
07-17-2012, 02:57 PM
When I just begun taking flight lessons, I was amazed at the super-human, eagle-like vision of my instructors that allowed them to spot airports where I could not see them at all. I took me a while to realize that they couldn't either.

After flying for a while in the same area we all begin to recognize landmarks around the airport, and we all, conciously or not, fly "IFR" (or follow power lines, or rivers, or water tanks.)

In one occasion I took my wife for a flight out of Lincoln Park, NJ, with a CFI as a chaperon, since I didn't have my ticket yet.
Flew in a direction the guy was not used to, and in two minutes had him hopelessly lost. ( For those that know the area, how can you not recognize route 287 and the reservoir by route 46? )

After I start taking passengers I guess I'll enjoy asking the victim-du-jour "Were is the airport?", while I keep my eyes locked in the cell tower that gives me my super-human navigation skills.

Roberto.