I couldn’t find anything on the Garmin site, and the Jepp site goes to the 496, with the 296 and below not listed.
I do actually have a 496 database from about 2009 and a loader which is, shall we say, capable of loading it, but I can’t believe you can load a 496 database into a 196.
Actually I probably worry too much. This 196 will live in the emergency bag and come out once a year for the battery change. I won’t need a map update when floating in the life raft 
A flashlight will also help in case of smoke in the cockpit. I experienced some scenarios in the simulator with " electrical smoke & fire " where it was only possible to land using a flashlight to read the instruments. With newer aircraft design things have changed according to Airbus Industries where an electrical fire is said to isolate itself after two minutes.
Is that true?
With newer aircraft design things have changed according to Airbus Industries where an electrical fire is said to isolate itself after two minutes.
Is that true?
Yes, like their turbines repair themselves all by themselves, in flight…
It’s an ugly big monster
It is much smaller than the IC-A20 I used since 1991. I’ve tried the ILS in Coventry (with someone on the RHS) last year and it seems to work great, but you need someone to hold it. There is a downside. The flimsy plastic bit that holds the battery breaks easily. A proper designer would have put the bit on the battery not in the radio.
It is 8.33, so not bad for the price.
I will bring it to Manston on the 22nd March.
For airspace updates for Garmin handhelds go to www.flygarmin.com
It lists it there at $50
It took me a while to realise one can’t just buy the database. One has to create an account. Also they seem to no longer allow a database download. You have to connect the GPS to the actual PC being used at the time. But the GPS is now in the plane.
Is there any way to download the database, Peter?
My Skymap 2 is for sale – £50 plus postage.
Includes antenna, USB-serial lead (I used to download flight plans into it from Navbox), a mains power unit, the original carry case, and a thin 12V lead acid battery which I used to fly with when I was renting.
The condition is very good. A few holes were drilled into the back for attaching a quick-release clip but that’s been removed. The database is 2005 which is probably the latest available. I can email photos to anyone.
I will put it on Ebay, a week from now.
Sorry Peter – it is a licensing thing. By having the GPS connected at the time of purchase they are able to encode the unit ID ( not to be confused eith the serial number ) into the download so that it will only work on that specific unit.
That’s what I thought. I recall that change on the G496 too, c. 2009. I didn’t bother updating the G496 after that, because if it broke and I had to get another one I would have to pay again for the database…
Do you have any feeling for when Garmin will drop database support for the 196? I would probably do one update at that point.
Incidentally, the G196 doesn’t ever pick up EGNOS. It just says “looking for WAAS” and never find anything. That is with the 2011 firmware. Is that as intended? The G496 picks up EGNOS OK. That said, both are within 10ft of each other on altitude.
It should be a good few years yet – the 196 is till in production. The III Pilot can still be updated and that went out of production about 7 years ago if memory serves me correctly.
