Garmin released a Garmin Pilot update on Tuesday and the new additions go beyond cosmetic tweaks. Daily Weather, a forecast turbulence layer, and a cleaner Database Concierge experience all bring practical improvements pilots can use in everyday flying.
Daily Weather Comes to Mobile
Daily Weather is now available in the Garmin Pilot app. It forecasts up to six days out, with an hourly breakdown for each day. A visual timeline color-codes expected VFR, MVFR, IFR, and LIFR conditions; drag it like a slider and the hourly weather below changes with it. It lives under the Weather section of the Airports tab, alongside the METARs, TAFs, and MOS forecasts you already pull. As with any extended forecast, treat it as a first-pass planning tool, not a substitute for a complete preflight briefing closer to departure.
I have been an advocate that EFB apps should be a one-stop shopping tool that gives the pilot everything they need, rather than having to bounce between different apps during the planning process. For me, today’s update has brought Garmin Pilot to that level.
Forecast Turbulence on the Map
The turbulence layer is the one feature here that lands on both mobile and web. It overlays forecast turbulence directly on the map, so you can see whether rough air sits along your route or altitude before you launch into it. U.S. coverage runs from the surface through FL450. Garmin says global coverage is expected to follow, initially from 11,000 feet through FL450.
It is useful for comparing routes and cruise altitudes ahead of a flight, but a forecast layer is exactly that—a forecast. It belongs alongside PIREPs, SIGMETs, and updated in-flight information, not in place of them. It shows where turbulence may develop; it does not promise what you will or will not find at a given spot and time.
Updated Database Concierge
Database Concierge users get a redesigned interface on iOS. The new page makes it easier to view installed navigation databases, spot available updates, and tell at a glance whether an aircraft is current. Garmin has also shortened the workflow to reach the page. For anyone managing more than one airplane, a new aircraft selector filters the database list by aircraft—useful for confirming each panel’s status without sorting through everything connected at once.
Bottom Line
This is one of the more useful updates since SmartCharts. Garmin continues to narrow the gap to its competition and I am very excited to see where the company takes it going forward.
Ohh lemme guess. Another GP update only for iOS. sigh.
Fair criticism.
In our EFB series, we learned that developing and testing aviation apps across the much wider range of Android devices and operating-system versions makes Android updates more difficult. Still, that explanation probably does not make the wait any less frustrating for Android users.
I get it. What I don’t get is how they justify charging the same for the Android version as the iOS version when it’s clearly less feature rich, it’s full of bugs, and they don’t appear to have the same size development team working on it. Despite my efforts, there’s no communication to customers about getting it up to par (still no 3rd party adsb in support, no smart charts, etc).
I’ve been using iFly, which works great. It’s just a bit of an eyesore.
I have both the Android and iOS version of GP (because I have an Android phone but iPad tablets), and while I don’t use GP on my phone very often, I have generally found it to be fairly reliable.
It does seem like in the early days of GP, they put more resources into the Android version than they are these days. In fact, some features came to the Android version before iOS.
“…developing and testing aviation apps across the much wider range of Android devices and operating-system versions makes Android updates more difficult.”
That’s a bit of a crutch, though. At this point, there is a widening range of iOS devices and OS versions with different hardware, so it’s not actually that different. The only real difference is that Apple eventually stopps supporting the older hardware with newer iOS versions, and so the app makers follow by requiring a minimum OS version. They could (and have) done the same for Android, which would eliminate much of the difficulty. Add in a list of officially-supported hardware models, and now it really is no different than supporting the Apple devices.
Or just buy an iPad to get the feature rich app. The android platform for GP will be a struggle you will never be happy with.
I just can’t get over the day, over the Zuni Indian Reservation in western New Mexico that my Garmin Pilot said that my subscription had expired at that exact moment and shut down. Good thing the skies were clear!
I’ve since used FlyQ with a lifetime subscription to VFR and IFR and haven’t looked back. Oh yeah, and my GFC500 is always disengaging for no reason, even in straight and level flight.
…And the FlyQ app was free and is kept current and the lifetime VFR/IFR data cost just $400. FOREVER!
Not anymore for those who want it now. They only offer 2 choices on their site…
It appears that the turbulence layer is not yet available in Hawaii. I did not see it in the layers selection of the map. This is unfortunate, as turbulence is often an issue in Hawaii. Now, Garmin Pilot is not alone there. Many 3rd party tools offering information specific to turbulence are not available in Hawaii. But still, I do hope it can be expanded to Hawaii in the foreseeable future.