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New Garin Portable - Aera 660


FlyingMonkey

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Garmin has a new small, (relatively) affordable portable, the Aera 660!

 

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/in-the-air/portable-gps/aera-660/prod520775.html

 

I'm thinking this would be a nice upgrade to my 496; the size means it will probably use a standard size Airgizmo 4.25" x 6.25" dock, so it might be a slide-in replacement.  Has some nice new features, and the touch screen will be much more user friendly than the 496 rocker switch/buttons.

 

One feature I'm very interested in is the new "wireaware" feature, that is supposed to give alerts for some wires that might be across the flight path; that is a great attempt to fill a major gap in obstacle avoidance.  I'm sure it only catches some wires and possibly only those at certain heights, but better than what we have now.

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It's nice Garmin wants to get a slice of the portable EFB market but this device is way over priced given a Samsung or an iPad with Garmin Pilot does the same thing for a fraction of the cost. 

 

The Flightstream interface works on this device and any tablet with Garmin Pilot.  That interface puts ADS-B traffic, moving map, obstacle dipiction on the tablet from a Garmin panel (G3x or G1000).  And allows flight plans created on the device and the tablets to be uploaded to the Garmin panel.

 

You also cannot fly a flight plan in the autopilot from it or the other tablets either.

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It's nice Garmin wants to get a slice of the portable EFB market but this device is way over priced given a Samsung or an iPad with Garmin Pilot does the same thing for a fraction of the cost. 

 

The Flightstream interface works on this device and any tablet with Garmin Pilot.  That interface puts ADS-B traffic, moving map, obstacle dipiction on the tablet from a Garmin panel (G3x or G1000).  And allows flight plans created on the device and the tablets to be uploaded to the Garmin panel.

 

You also cannot fly a flight plan in the autopilot from it or the other tablets either.

 

You can absolutely fly an autopilot from the 660.  NMEA data out is mentioned in the documentation.

 

This is essentially a smaller screen 796 at half the price, with some added features.  Funny that you were ALL OVER the 796 over the iPad,  and but this device is not as good as an iPad?   <_<     Pick a lane!    :lol:

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The 660 looks like a perfect upgrade to a 496. Since we do flight training, I have extra nav equpment in my panel, and i have to keep a small format gps display.

 

I think that will go on the list of panel upgrades that I want to do in the coming years.

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The 660 looks like a perfect upgrade to a 496. Since we do flight training, I have extra nav equpment in my panel, and i have to keep a small format gps display.

 

I think that will go on the list of panel upgrades that I want to do in the coming years.

 

That's what I'm thinking.  I was saving my pennies for an ADS-B upgrade, probably the new GTX 345.  Now I might go ahead and get the Aera 660 soon and put off ADS-B a while longer.  Depending on how much I get for the 496, it might cost me very little.  I will miss XM weather on long flights though.  :(

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You can absolutely fly an autopilot from the 660.  NMEA data out is mentioned in the documentation.

 

This is essentially a smaller screen 796 at half the price, with some added features.  Funny that you were ALL OVER the 796 over the iPad,  and but this device is not as good as an iPad?   <_<     Pick a lane!    :lol:

 

Neither the Dynon AP nor the Garmin GFC700 AP will fly a route based on any tablet.   You can display ADS-B and moving map from the Garmin G1000 on a GP or Foreflight tablet using Flightstream wireless.  You can upload a flight plan from the tablet with Foreflight or GP into the G1000 via wireless.  That's it.  

 

The Garmin 796 is connected to the Dynon via a serial interface in the panel mounted cradle.  

 

It does look like you can cradle mount the 660  or panel mount with cradle  like the 796. The 660 is a 5 inch screen.  The 796 a 7 inch screen.  So Garmin is competing against their own AERAs already on the market by coming out with a cheaper smaller model with the added Flightstream feature..

 

It first appeared to me the 660 was an attempt to compete with the tablets running ForeFlight and GP, not the 796.  But instead it appears they are offering a Flightstream capable smaller version of the 796 for less money.  An interesting combo if that is true.

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Neither the Dynon AP nor the Garmin GFC700 AP will fly a route based on any tablet.   You can display ADS-B and moving map from the Garmin G1000 on a GP or Foreflight tablet using Flightstream wireless.  You can upload a flight plan from the tablet with Foreflight or GP into the G1000 via wireless.  That's it.  

 

The Garmin 796 is connected to the Dynon via a serial interface in the panel mounted cradle.  

 

It does look like you can cradle mount the 660  or panel mount with cradle  like the 796. The 660 is a 5 inch screen.  The 796 a 7 inch screen.  So Garmin is competing against their own AERAs already on the market by coming out with a cheaper smaller model with the added Flightstream feature..

 

It first appeared to me the 660 was an attempt to compete with the tablets running ForeFlight and GP, not the 796.  But instead it appears they are offering a Flightstream capable smaller version of the 796 for less money.  An interesting combo if that is true.

 

Ah, I see.  It's not actually a tablet/EFB (though it has a lot of the same capabilities).  It's part of their Aera line of dedicated aviation GPS units, like the 796.  I think what they are realizing is that the 796 is more money than many pilots want to spend, and so units like the iFly, AvMap, and other lower-cost solutions are gaining traction.

 

I think they are positioning the 796 as their "premium" portable GPS solution, and the 660 as their "budget" solution, both for new installations and people wanting to update their 296/396/496 units.  They priced it in the same ballpark as the iFly and AvMap, which previously were cheaper than any good new Garmin solution.  They also lowered (significantly) the cost of database updates, down to $199 or so for a full update compared to the $499 a full update would cost on my 496.  

 

I think this unit will make a lot of money for Garmin.  The form factor will make for easy upgrades with 296/396/496 units like I have, I'll just need a new dock.  I'll gain touch screen ease of use and some nice features like Bluetooth ADS-B display.  The only downside is that I will lose the XM weather I have been using, though once I get the GTX 345 I'm planning I'll get ADS-B weather on both the 660 and my iPad. 

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Ah, I see.  It's not actually a tablet/EFB (though it has a lot of the same capabilities).  It's part of their Aera line of dedicated aviation GPS units, like the 796.  I think what they are realizing is that the 796 is more money than many pilots want to spend, and so units like the iFly, AvMap, and other lower-cost solutions are gaining traction.

 

I think they are positioning the 796 as their "premium" portable GPS solution, and the 660 as their "budget" solution, both for new installations and people wanting to update their 296/396/496 units.  They priced it in the same ballpark as the iFly and AvMap, which previously were cheaper than any good new Garmin solution.  They also lowered (significantly) the cost of database updates, down to $199 or so for a full update compared to the $499 a full update would cost on my 496.  

 

I think this unit will make a lot of money for Garmin.  The form factor will make for easy upgrades with 296/396/496 units like I have, I'll just need a new dock.  I'll gain touch screen ease of use and some nice features like Bluetooth ADS-B display.  The only downside is that I will lose the XM weather I have been using, though once I get the GTX 345 I'm planning I'll get ADS-B weather on both the 660 and my iPad. 

 

Valid point. I participate on a number of aviation forums, and if the postings reflect an accurate cross section of aircraft owners, then Garmin is losing market share to ifly. Some bought the ifly because of display brightness, some because of price, and others went with the ifly and the ADS-B bundle, but all have given glowing pireps of ifly on the forums. It just might be ifly is a better and less expensive mousetrap and Garmin is responding to the competition.

 

In the automotive GPS market, Garmin is competitively priced, but I think they have been overpriced in the aviation market due to lack of competition. Just consider this, the single most expensive component is the display, and going by the YouTube videos, the resolution and brightness (1300 nit) of ifly sets it apart from all others.  

 

Here is a page of pireps of the ifly  https://www.iflygps.com/PIREPs.aspx

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Yes.  It appears to be a budget 796.  Which is fine.  But as we both know the portable 796 GPS device does not meet the WAAS/GPS 2020 mandate for ADS-B. 

 

One solution given the ADS-B constraint is to have two or three G3X touch screens for new non-certified installations (PFD/MFD & Nav).  And for our planes with Dynon and the 696 or 796 we must add the Dynon GPS to the skyview to gain compliance and end up with redundancy for GPS. 

 

As a portable neither the 796 nor the 660 compete with iPad Foreflight or Samsung Garmin Pilot EFB/GPS solutions.  So not entirely sure what Garmin is up to with this product UNLESS the WAAS/GPS inside the 660 is 2020 compliant...if so, then it's a 796 replacement not just alternative and the 796 becomes completely obsolete..

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So not entirely sure what Garmin is up to with this product UNLESS the WAAS/GPS inside the 660 is 2020 compliant...

 

It is not 2020 compliant.  What they are up to is selling products.  It's an incremental improvement w/ some new features in the Aera line, no more, no less.  Perfectly suitable for VFR pilots.  Not going to get you any closer to 2020 ADS-B requirements, but if you want that with a Garmin sticker gonna cost you a LOT more.  For many looks like a nice GPS upgrade.

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Not true.

Skyview autopilot will fly a flight plan programmed from an iPad using Foreflight.

 

Ahh.. is this true?  If so, I owe somebody a lunch because I bet a couple years ago that you would not see an iPad drive an AP w/o being jailbroken... are you sure you're not sync'ing a flightplan from Foreflight into Skyview, and Skyview flys the flightplan?

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Ahh.. is this true?  If so, I owe somebody a lunch because I bet a couple years ago that you would not see an iPad drive an AP w/o being jailbroken... are you sure you're not sync'ing a flightplan from Foreflight into Skyview, and Skyview flys the flightplan?

 

Yes, that's what he means, it's not driving the AP in real time.  

 

You don't owe me a lunch (yet).   :giggle-3307:

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Not true.

Skyview autopilot will fly a flight plan programmed from an iPad using Foreflight.

 

The Garmin 796 is connected to the Dynon Skyview via serial cable.  A flight plan in the 796 can be flown directly by the Dynon autopilot in an FD. 

 

Flight plans can be entered by hand or imported into the 796 at the desk top, but it's not about the flight plan.

 

No flight plan in a tablet can be flown by an autopilot via a wireless interface.  Flight plans can, however, now be uploaded from Foreflight or Garmin Pilot from a tablet into a G1000 to be flown by the GFC 700 autopilot via Flightstream.  But doubt anyone will put a Flightstream wireless controller or a G1000 into an SLSA.

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What Garmin is "up to" with this product, as Craig mentioned, is sales.  They need a product that will replace the 296/396/496 legacy units that are out there in the tens of thousands.  It has to have similar form factor (so owners don't have to hack up their panels to install it), give a nice boost to features, and be at a price point that people who are still using older gear can tolerate (many are still using the older units because they aren't willing to pay the premium for a 696/796).

 

The 660 fulfills this mission.  It's also not a mystery why the retail price is $849...the latest iFly 740 is $899.  Garmin is trying to give buyers a compelling reason to stick with them as market leader, and if the unit performs well I think they will succeed.  I've been looking for an upgrade to my 496 for a while now, and looked hard at the iFly but never pulled the trigger.  This unit is exactly what I'm looking for -- if Airgizmos had a dock available for it now, and I knew the existing GPS antenna in my CT were compatible, I'd have ordered one yesterday.

 

Airgizmos confirmed to me in e-mail today they hope to have a dock for this unit by Oshkosh, and that it will fit in the same panel opening as the 396/496 dock.  unless something even better comes out in the meantime, once the dock is available I'm planning to order the Aera 660.  I'm crossing my fingers that the back connectors will be the same as 496, but I'm guessing I'll have to pay for a bit of re-wiring.

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That's what I'm thinking.  I was saving my pennies for an ADS-B upgrade, probably the new GTX 345.  Now I might go ahead and get the Aera 660 soon and put off ADS-B a while longer.  Depending on how much I get for the 496, it might cost me very little.  I will miss XM weather on long flights though.   :(

 

Why not use the XM weather payments to finance the ADS-B upgrade?  Kinda pays for itself and you don't lose the weather instead you gain the traffic.

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Bingo!

iPad drives the autopilot indirectly. Skyview autopilot will follow a heading, even change course, from iPad inputs.

No verticals though . . . . . yet! Eventually, I can see this happening though. iPad is an amazing tool.

 

Will it allow you to do so while in flight and the AP engaged?  If so, that's pretty cool.

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Why not use the XM weather payments to finance the ADS-B upgrade?  Kinda pays for itself and you don't lose the weather instead you gain the traffic.

 

Because it's 180-230 months at $35/mo to get to the $6k-8k upgrade number. ;)

 

Maybe if I upgrade my XM service to include everything they offer....   :laughter-3293:

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What would make this the cats ass is if Garmin would let you put a flight plan into it via Garmin Pilot like you can with Skyview and Foreflight (without having to buy some device that consumes another aviation $ unit (e.g. Flight Stream)).

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Personally, this whole flight plan deal seems like wretched excess for a simple VFR-only machine.

 

Most times, I just plug my destination into my 496 and go direct.

 

Once in a while I may need to insert a waypoint, to dogleg around airspace I want/need to avoid, to route over airports enroute or to avoid higher terrain. But that's not hard to do, regardless, either on the ground or in the air.

 

Whatever floats your boat, I guess, but sometimes simplicity is a virtue.

 

Back on point, looks like a nice little GPS.

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Most of the time you're right Eddie.  But I had a few times where I needed some much more complex flight plans.  Coming back around Orlando I had to get around the class B, plus restricted military space, plus NASA's caps R-spaces.  At one point I was in a 2-3 mile wide corridor between two restricted spaces.  The big "D" button would not have threaded that needle!

 

Options are always better than no options! 

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