GP is attractive because of the potential future interface with a GTN box, I believe…
But does it do airspace? According to some posts here (Bosco?) it is not ready for prime time yet.
dublinpilot wrote:
I don’t think any of the apps do audio warnings for terrain?
Garmin Pilot does “Terrain! Terrain!” alert.
EasvVFR does spoken warnings (or alarm) for Obstacles and CAS.
Terrain is just shown visually, with no audio warnings.
I don’t think any of the apps do audio warnings for terrain?
One would update the 496 database say once a year, shortly after the UK CAA VFR charts come out. I think it used to cost about 35 quid.
This is much cheaper than SD for example, and there is no fiddling; you just press one button to start the unit up, and its high quality EGNOS GPS “just works” (not always with EGNOS but always very accurately).
But frankly I don’t care what software one is running so long as it “just works” and auto starts. I am sure one can auto start apps on android with various automation tools. Something like an S6 would be an OK platform, and one can run the UK CAA 1:500k chart under Oziexplorer so you get “your favourite paper map” too 
The terrain+CAS app would run in the background.
The app needs to correct for the ~160ft geoid error, too.
Does SD (or PFMS?) have terrain+obstacles and CAS for all of Europe?
How often does / would the 496 airspace warnings update? The advantage of a phone solution (which can even deliver BT to your device, if you so feel inclined), is that you get frequent updates.
I personally don’t really have reception problems (my iPad even mostly receives in airliner as long as I’m on a window seat), but for my older Ipad I use a blutooth GPS receiver (Dual), and it works great too.
Peter wrote:
Running what software? I need terrain and airspace warnings both coming out of the 3.5mm jack.
I only work with 2 softwares so can’t really comment on others, and my portable devices are all Apple (so can’t comment on Android), but:
- Skydemon does both (and runs on phone)
- Garmin pilot: I was only able to see terrain (and it works relatively well got in a cable car once). It’s available on iPhone (but I haven’t tested it)
An iPhone (or non apple equivalent)?
Running what software? I need terrain and airspace warnings both coming out of the 3.5mm jack.
Peter wrote:
Also nobody else has mentioned a solution which does this which is compact enough to go in the yoke.
An iPhone (or non apple equivalent)?
The point of this requirement is to avoid a CAS bust due to say a brief lack of concentration on a local flight, on which the route was not preplanned as one would do on a longer one. There is a really onerous UK CAA procedure nowadays, which starts with an online test with a tutorial followed by a piece of the PPL exam question bank (about 3/4 unrelated to the tutorial which you have just very carefully read!) but done at 4x the speed and you cannot review your answers after choosing them. It is very hard to even just read (and check for trick wording) the questions in the time given. One of them was a slide rule calculation of wind offset and like the others you get 45 seconds. Some of the questions contain all-wrong answers; I had two of those. No idea what happens if you fail this mad-rush exam, or if they credit the all-wrong ones as they do in normal PPL or IR exams.
It looks like Garmin specifically coded the 496 to output terrain warnings but not airspace warnings, which I find bizzare. It’s all in the database… Also nobody else has mentioned a solution which does this which is compact enough to go in the yoke. I guess the pilot shops are not selling aviaion GPSs anymore so nobody knows much about the functionality.
