IPAD MINI 5 vs Garmin AREA 760

[Danb]

I’m considering upgrading my 4 year old IPAD MINI which I use on the yoke along with a IPAD PRO 11” for charts, flight planning etc.

Looking at some of our gurus with superior panels such as Don K and others who use a Garmin portable instead of an IPAD.

I would like guidance on whether to switch to the Garmin including why versus acquiring a new MINI 5. I still will carry my IPAD PRO

[ArtVandelay]

GP is more functional than Aera, Aera has better screen for sunlight viewing. IPAD is cheaper upfront.

[aviatoreb]

I am not excited by the idea of one more garmin subscription system to babysit.  I like the ease and interaction utility of updating charts etc on the iPad.  I like that my efb/ipad is not actually part of the panel.

[whiskytango]

One advantage of the iPad is that with your subscription you can authorize 2 devices.  If my iPad dies in flight I can pull my iPhone out and get back all of the chart, approach and weather information needed to complete the flight.  

[donkaye]

1 hour ago, Danb said:

I’m considering upgrading my 4 year old IPAD MINI which I use on the yoke along with a IPAD PRO 11” for charts, flight planning etc.

Looking at some of our gurus with superior panels such as Don K and others who use a Garmin portable instead of an IPAD.

I would like guidance on whether to switch to the Garmin including why versus acquiring a new MINI 5. I still will carry my IPAD PRO

I'm in the unique position of needing both.  My 796 normalizes all airplanes for me when teaching.  I can get at whatever information I need independent of student and the avionics in their airplane.  It also has built in XM with a small puck.  While the new 760 is probably faster, runs cooler, a little lighter, and draws holds, it requires purchase of a much larger piece of hardware (the GDL 51 or 52) to do XM weather, so for the first time, I'm probably not going to get it.  Of course I said that for the 750/650 to 750Xi/650Xi and went ahead and did that upgrade last week.

The 796 gives me much more information on the yoke for my purposes than having an iPad mini on the yoke.  It is also much less susceptible to blackout from heat than the iPad.  So, although I have some of the best avionics in the world as primary in my plane, I still like having the extra information presented by the 796.  Except for the weather issue, I think the same thing would apply to the 760.

[Danb]

Don I believe I could get ADSB weather from the 345 to the 760, I have XM on my panel.

[donkaye]

30 minutes ago, Danb said:

Don I believe I could get ADSB weather from the 345 to the 760, I have XM on my panel.

Yes, you're correct.  For me, moving plane to plane, I cannot guarantee that the plane I'm teaching in has the bluetooth capability to be able to provide an acceptable type of weather to me.

[kortopates]

I guess it depends if you want to embrace the entire iPad role in aviation. The Aera 760 seems to limited to E6B kind of functionality or maybe a better way to put it is more of a duplication of our panel GPSs  rather than adding real new capabilities. My panel is G500, GTN750, GTN650, GTX-345 with FS-510 as well as XM weather and music. I could be wrong since Garmin doesn't publish a user manual on the Aera 760 and I am not a user of it like Don. But when I refer to the new capabilities provided by iPads these days, as a Garmin Pilot user, where I beleive the iPad shines,  I am referring to complete performance modeling (fuel and time) for my pre-flight planning at home,  as well a ability to file flight plans, get a weather briefing and review official weather products. I can even activate and close VFR flight plans from my ipad on the runway, and GP has taken over the role of being my on-line backed up in the cloud Pilot logbook and record of endorsements given and received. And then the one big thing no matter how much you might love an Aera is the database concierge service on the iPad which make it so easy to update all my panel databases wireless over the iPad.  I know the Aera does bread crumbs or saves flight track info, but with the iPad I can no only go over the recent track, it saves every track along with the entry in my online logbook. I also use checklist capabilities along with performance capabilities for many  different models I work in which I would expect the Aera does as well, but I doubt the Aera is as useful for preflight planning and filing flights plans like the iPad is, let alone provide the log book functions and update your databases.

So realistically, i don't think you can call this a either or decision. Even with our nice panel, you'll need the iPad regardless with GP or Foreflight even if you only use it for the database concierge service and then it comes down to whether you also wan to add in the Aera 760 too.

Like Don, I also supplement my iPad GP with a GDL-39D so I have onboard weather and traffic on my iPad when instructing plus its last line of backups in my plane in case of a total electrical failure.

[Lance Link]

I have an Aera 660 on the yoke and will probably upgrade to the 760, in part because the 660 is already hardwired to a GDL 52R.  The 760 is just a little smaller than a mini iPad and will sit far back in the yoke in portrait without blocking anything in my modified mount. I always carry two iPads and always will, but the damn things shut off from heat all the time and glare is a real problem.  I am still waiting to find out exactly what the 760 will and will not do but it looks like it provides much of the functionality of a GTN 750 at a fraction of the price.  Hopefully there will be more about this device discussed on this forum.

[carusoam]

With the long body...

1) The copilot side has lots of room to consider mounting a portable device in place.... as if it were panel mounted, yet officially temporary...

2) That has two good options for either the portable Garmin or iPad mini....

3) My ipad is an every day device I use everywhere... so... I’m always going to be using it, or another one when I lose the first one...

4) If I had my dream, big G, panel... My everyday iPad would be used for loading charts on a 28day cycle... Working out flight plans from my kitchen table...

5) I would still go with the portable Garmin in the panel... it is more industrial... it doesn’t shut down when the sun looks at it...
 

6) quick summary...

• Check the real estate on the copilot panel to see if it has enough Space for the mount and Garmin portable...
• check the budget, because you still want an iPad to do iPad things... MS, email, buying things on amazon.smile, loading chart updates... + it is a great back-up device #2 for a dark panel...
• A panel mounted iPad also works well as inflight entertainment... depending on what your SIC is interested in... GP or Netflix..?

 

PP thoughts only,

Best regards,

-a-

[MIm20c]

One thing nice about GP/FF is you will most likely have it with you everywhere you go. I now carry a “go bag” consisting of a Halo headset and a scout adsb. That along with my always attached iPhone (so the government can track my every move) I’m ready to go flying anytime.  If I purchased a 760 it would be an additional unit to my iPad mini. 

[Oscar Avalle]

I just got the Garmin Aerea 760. I like it. It. The size is perfect. It fits perfectly well on the Yoke. The screen is amazing, much better than Garmin Pilot on the ipad. Now having said that, I still think that the Garmin Pilot software is still superior to the 760 software. For example the WB function on the 760 can not be adjusted to show the limits and if the WB is out of range. The one on the ipad can. Also, on the ipad I can download the database update for my GTN 750 and then transfer. I don't know if on the 760 I can...

But what really upset me was that I have no option to use Jepp charts on the Aerea 760. I called jepessen and asked them and they said that for the time being Garmin had not given them the green light to use their charts on the unit. I hope it is a question of time... but in the meantime the unit's use is rather limited if you have the GTN system linked to your Jepp account.

[Lance Link]

Thanks for the report Oscar!  I’m going to have one wired up in a month or so when the shutdown requirements are loosened up.

[59Moonster]

Just dropped down to a mini 5. Like the size better in the cockpit than my Air2. 

[steingar]

I don't understand using a dedicated aviation handheld.  The iPad does all that stuff, and you can take it home and watch porn or whatever else you do.  The aviation handheld can only be used for aviation.  The only down side to an iPad is its lifetime cycle is shorter, though I bet they go obsolete before they break.  I've been using an old iPad mini 3 for years, I suppose when it finally gives up the ghost I'll get a new mini if they're available.  Fits the yoke of my aircraft well.  It was too bright to read it the other day, I just put it in my lap and it worked fine.

[aviatoreb]

2 hours ago, steingar said:

I don't understand using a dedicated aviation handheld.  The iPad does all that stuff, and you can take it home and watch porn or whatever else you do.  The aviation handheld can only be used for aviation.  The only down side to an iPad is its lifetime cycle is shorter, though I bet they go obsolete before they break.  I've been using an old iPad mini 3 for years, I suppose when it finally gives up the ghost I'll get a new mini if they're available.  Fits the yoke of my aircraft well.  It was too bright to read it the other day, I just put it in my lap and it worked fine.

Wait - are you saying you can't watch porn on the Garmin Area 760?  I am sure that if enough customers want to watch porn and tell them so, then Garmin will be happy to provide a special porn activation subscription.  Porn aviator.  And then of course, Porn aviator pro.

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, aviatoreb said:

Wait - are you saying you can't watch porn on the Garmin Area 760?  I am sure that if enough customers want to watch porn and tell them so, then Garmin will be happy to provide a special porn activation subscription.  Porn aviator.  And then of course, Porn aviator pro.

And this is the website it will take you to: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/in-the-air/cInTheAir-p0.html

[Andy95W]

2 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

Wait - are you saying you can't watch porn on the Garmin Area 760?  I am sure that if enough customers want to watch porn and tell them so, then Garmin will be happy to provide a special porn activation subscription.  Porn aviator.  And then of course, Porn aviator pro.

I'm not sure the ADS-B transmitters have enough bandwidth to stream that content.  Certainly not for Marauder's tastes.

[aviatoreb]

Just now, Andy95W said:

I'm not sure the ADS-B transmitters have enough bandwidth to stream that content.  Certainly not for Marauder's tastes.

Well - yeah - it will be lorez.  But I am sure the good folks at the FAA will understand the need once our lobbyist at the AOPA make the case that this is an essential product to broadcast on the ADSB - plus I am sure it will expedite faster and wider adoption of the technology.

[N231BN]

Aviation porn aside, an ipad is not a quality backup navigator like a (X)96 or Aera handheld. It does provide quality SA and valuable flight planning functions.

[toto]

3 minutes ago, N231BN said:

Aviation porn aside, an ipad is not a quality backup navigator like a (X)96 or Aera handheld. It does provide quality SA and valuable flight planning functions.
 

The Aera 760 with its integrated AHRS may be the only single-box handheld that offers both navigation and attitude. Something like the Dynon D3 gives you attitude but no nav, and other handhelds offer nav with no attitude. 

If mounted in an Airgizmos dock or whatever, the Aera 760 has an awful lot of backup potential in a single battery-powered unit. 

[N231BN]

The Aera 760 with its integrated AHRS may be the only single-box handheld that offers both navigation and attitude. Something like the Dynon D3 gives you attitude but no nav, and other handhelds offer nav with no attitude. 
If mounted in an Airgizmos dock or whatever, the Aera 760 has an awful lot of backup potential in a single battery-powered unit. 

I didn't realize it has its own AHRS, that is a big deal.

[LANCECASPER]

3 hours ago, N231BN said:

3 hours ago, toto said:

The Aera 760 with its integrated AHRS may be the only single-box handheld that offers both navigation and attitude. Something like the Dynon D3 gives you attitude but no nav, and other handhelds offer nav with no attitude. 
If mounted in an Airgizmos dock or whatever, the Aera 760 has an awful lot of backup potential in a single battery-powered unit. 

I didn't realize it has its own AHRS, that is a big deal.

Only if it's panel mounted.

[kortopates]

Truth is I put very little value in any portable as a backup. My iPad with GP and portable GDL-39D is my 4th in line doomsday backup. I really tried to ensure I'll never need to go beyond certified backups but we all want some thing for the worst case failures. 

[toto]

52 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

Only if it's panel mounted.

Right, it needs to be in a fixed position.  Airgizmos doesn't have a 760 dock out yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.  A solid RAM mount or similar would probably work equally well, so long as you aren't removing the 760 and dropping it in your lap.