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The Garmin Aera 795 has now been enhanced for European and specifically UK VFR flying.

I discovered today that Garmin has added two new downloadable data streams for the Aera 795 : Firstly free of charge “base map enhancements” for the whole of Europe and secondly, the official CAA 500,000:1 VFR “paper” Charts for £60. I downloaded them both.

The first adds much more detail to Garmin’s existing vector-drawn base map: this now shows much more ground detail such as green-coloured parks and fields and major street names, and even many small local street names. It’s a really big enhancement. The coloured ground effects (for parks / fields / cities etc) are very helpful when flying VFR. The street names I guess might be helpful for helicopter pilots, but are no use to me. I haven’t discovered all the changes yet, but the main “map” screen is very noticeably different.

The CAA VFR 500,000:1 charts are exactly what one would expect and I like them. Years ago I used to have a different portable GPS that showed only the CAA charts and I have missed that facility with the otherwise much more capable Area 795. I very much like the facility now to be able to press one screen button on the 795 for the screen display to change from Garmin’s (now enhanced) vector-drawn base map, to the CAA’s standard VFR chart and back again as necessary. For me it adds a lot of utility to be able to absolutely fix my position on screen to the official paper charts on which I still drawn my chinagraph red lines.

Garmin makes available other “paper” charts for the 795 for most of the rest of Europe. I don’t know how many of these are digital versions of the old Jeppesen VFR+ charts, but some are. For some strange reason (I think perhaps Jepp stopped producing paper) only eastern France is available as any “paper” chart on the 795, although all of Germany, Italy, Austria etc are.

I’m very pleased with the 795. I fly with it all the time and I find it hugely useful. These new features improve it a lot for me. All it needs now is (i) visually displayed notams and (ii) the ability to input on bluetooth from a portable AHARS (so that it can act as a standby AI) whilst also inputing on its serial port from my existing portable traffic detector and it’ll then be perfect. (At present I have to choose one input function or the other which is a real pain.)

Howard

Last Edited by Howard at 23 Apr 23:49
Flying a TB20 out of EGTR
Elstree (EGTR), United Kingdom

The Garmin GDL39 will give you traffic and an AHRS for the 795. I do not understand the benefit of a CAA or any other paper chart on screen as they are static as opposed to the dynamic updated electronic charts. If I want that I use Jeppesen Mobile
flight Deck VFR where the charts are updated monthly and look almost identical to the VFR GPS charts of old.

EHLE / Lelystad, Netherlands, Netherlands

Familiarity and accuracy?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I understand the familiarity aspect but better accuracy? Any paper chart will quickly lose currency whereas digital charts are constantly updated.

EHLE / Lelystad, Netherlands, Netherlands

Agree about the lack of currency if paper or rastered charts.

It still amazes me how much most pilots (especially VFR-pilots, especially low-time pilots, iow: the majority) stick to “CAA” charts. They think it’s the only legal one and seem to get that imprinted on them during PPL. At Aero, I was at the Rogers Data stand for a while, and the first question people asked them (sceptically) was “am I legal flying with these charts?”

Last Edited by boscomantico at 24 Apr 06:48
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

@Peter_Mundy : the Garmin GDL39 (which I own for its AHARS input) only detects ADSB-out traffic, and not transponder signalled-traffic nor flarm. The Powerflarm devices detect all three kinds of traffic signal, but don’t provide attitude data to the Garmin 795. I’d like to have both facilities : full(ish) traffic detection and attitude data, all from the one device. (The 795 seems unable to cope with two simultaneous data input sources -one bluetooth and one on the serial port.)

I learned to fly with CAA paper charts and am very familiar with their layout and symbology. They may not be constantly updated but in combination with flight planning using (constantly updated) Skydemon I get exactly what I need. I remain frustrated by the absence of one set of official paper chart symbology across Europe and the disappearance of Jeppesen’s VFR paper charts (which were standard across international boundaries of course) adds to my frustration.

I realise that these are First World problems :D

Flying a TB20 out of EGTR
Elstree (EGTR), United Kingdom

If you can work with charts on a scale of 1:1,000,000 then the Air Million charts do a very good job in my opinion.

EHLE / Lelystad, Netherlands, Netherlands

Selling my Aera 795 with European charts. Like-new conditions (also the battery life is like new). Bought few years ago when my ipad stopped working inflight because of too much sun and I was relying on it to navigate VRPs on approach (the Cirrus avionics database didn’t have VRPs). My new plane avionics has the VRPs and the small airfields, so no longer need the 795. I already bought and sold things from/to EuroGA members so I ask you all what could be a reasonable selling price. Thanks

United Kingdom
8 Posts
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