Comments on: Garmin Aera series

By: jack

jack — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:40:40 +0000

Thanks for these reviews, people! Very helpful. The 560 was looking very attractive but clearly they need to work on this concept more… perhaps the next generation will prove to be worth it.

By: Cody

Cody — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:11:46 +0000

I have used the 496 and decided to ungrade to the 560 and came out very disappointed, the 560 has many many things I hate about it and will be returning it, Garmin has dropped the ball on this one and has taken something so simple and made it into a pain in the rear, first the screen is not bright enough, the touch screen is a royal pain, navigation sucks, the features like adding icons to waypoints they have got rid of the icons like fule pump and hospital etc, these come in handy for user way points. It is just to difficult to navigate through not as user friendly as the 296 496 series.

By: Roger

Roger — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:56:55 +0000

I recently purchased the Garmin Aera to replace my 396. Although there are the usually trade offs/differences between models, the biggest problem I find with the Aera is the added steps to activate navigation in “nearest” or “direct to” modes. In an emergency, you want to activate navigation as soon as possible and I can’t understand why Garmin made this more convoluted. Hopefully it will be correct with a software upgrade.

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:26:32 +0000

If you’re used to the 396/496, you may find these omissions on the new unit really annoying. All of these can be fixed by Software upgrades, but I wonder why the step backwards from the tried and true function of the 396/496. Even with all these errors, the touch screen is great however. I traded my 396 in to get the aera, I hope they update the aera SW soon so I can get back to similar function as my previous unit.
1. CRITICAL SERIOUS OMISSION: You can’t see if an Airport has approaches available and which ones, like the 396/496 by reviewing the waypoint/airport info. This is a real loss of function for the traveling pilot who is facing unexpected weather and is looking for options to land.
2. HIGH PRIORITY ERROR: Black screen and auto turn off after looking at destination airport info screen from tapping on destination airport when simulator on.
3. HIGH PRIORITY: Add runway numbers to the runway extension lines. This was a very helpful feature of the 396/496.
4. MED PRIORITY: On the Flight Plan List page. Why are the tabs not customizable and or scrollable? If they are fixed, it seems that Enroute Safe Altitude is not the best choice. Don’t most pilots want to know ‘Dist’, ‘Time’ (for currently selected Aircraft) and ‘Est Fuel’ as the main items about a flightplan without having to review or ‘activate’ the Flight Plan? These are the first critical items I always want to review.
5. MED PRIORITY: On the Flight Plan List Page, or even the Flight Plan Review Page. What happened to the 396/496 ability to ‘view map’? I realize the touchscreen interface may not have been optimal for editing on map, but how about at least letting me view the plan on the map (without having to ‘activate’ the plan)? Getting a sense visually of the route is quite helpful.
6. MED PRIORITY: On the Fuel Timer… I fly Cessna. And on the 396/496 I could set a timer for 3 hours 30 minutes to remind me to recheck my fuel burn and ETE etc. I used this as a ‘fuel level needs escalated attention now’. Why does the aera limit me to 60 minutes? This is good for a low wing switch, but not useful for aircraft with cross-fed tanks.
7. LOW PRIORITY: On the Weight and Balance page. Why can’t I have a negative weight? (the 396 had this problem too). Many Flight Manuals call for startup and taxi allowance of minus 8 pounds and the associated moment.

By: John

John — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:12:30 +0000

Just bought an Aera 560 to replace my GPS 496. A capable unit with many nice features, however after a side by side comparison, Im returning the 560 and keeping the 496. I fly an open cockpit aircraft and in direct sunlight the 496 is very legible while the detail on the 560 is very difficult to see. Also the compass rose on the 496 is much more responsive than the 560 which has a noticeable lag time. Its not much better than a whisky compass which makes it difficult to roll out precisely on a heading from a standard rate turn. The touch screen is nice but not very useful if you cant see the detail. I like it as a automobile unit but at $2000 one would be better served to buy a NUVI and a used 496 and pocket the change.