Easy to use GPS?

[mr bill]

Recently installed one, very nice display, simple to operate--no more buttons, just a touch screen.

[enyaw]

Naviator 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]

I had a little time behind a Garmin 500 and found it intuitive and the touch screen performed great.

[jtpitkin06]

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]

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]

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.

[jtpitkin06]

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.

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]

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.