Garmin Pilot is part of One Pack database purchases?! Reason to switch

[DXB]

I've been using Foreflight since I was a PPL student back in 2013, despite their rising subscription prices and transformation from a scrappy innovative startup to now being part of Boeing, a relationship which gives me the icks.  

I just found out I've also been paying for Garmin Pilot as part of my Garmin database purchases for my GTN650.  I've no clue how long this has been the case. Did y'all know this already? Why didn't you tell me? 

The pricey Garmin database subscriptions are of course one of the great free data repackaging scams of our time. However, the access to Garmin Pilot at no added cost makes me consider switching to save on the cost of Foreflight.  Has anyone done this?  How much of a risk / hassle is the transition?  I'd hate to create a smoking crater because I only know how to pull up an approach plate on Foreflight at the moment. Also other hidden costs if I do make the switch?

[toto]

I have a OnePak bundle, and use GP as my EFB. Note that you only get the “Pro” upgrade as part of your OnePak. You still have to buy the base app. 

[DXB]

5 minutes ago, toto said:

I have a OnePak bundle, and use GP as my EFB. Note that you only get the “Pro” upgrade as part of your OnePak. You still have to buy the base app. 

Ah - thanks for that info.  Looks like it would save me about $130 / year to switch ($109 for the GP base subscription vs. $240 for Foreflight Pro Plus).  It may not be worth the hassle yet.

 

[McMooney]

there should be a class on database subscriptions.  I recently paid $$ for a sub to find out the recommended safe taxi and something else add on are completely useless on a gnc355

[toto]

3 minutes ago, McMooney said:

there should be a class on database subscriptions.  I recently paid $$ for a sub to find out the recommended safe taxi and something else add on are completely useless on a gnc355

I think you can call the flyGamin people and talk through it with them. I’ve heard they are pretty good at figuring out the best option for your hardware. 

Also - if you’ve done this recently, they might very well give you a credit for money paid if the product was incorrect. 

[PeteMc]

I thought you had to subscribe to Pilot separately, not as part of a DB subscription.  

I do know they give you a free Upgrade if you have the Basic version. 

 

[Hank]

8 hours ago, McMooney said:

there should be a class on database subscriptions.  I recently paid $$ for a sub to find out the recommended safe taxi and something else add on are completely useless on a gnc355

Charts, approach plates and airport diagrams are part of (free) Avare, which runs on Android.

I haven't drunk enough Kool Aid to pay triple the price for an iPad with GPS chip so that I can then pay FF's high annual fee. Besides, I don't care for ios anyway.

[toto]

7 minutes ago, Hank said:

Charts, approach plates and airport diagrams are part of (free) Alvarez, which runs on Android.

I haven't drunk enough Kool Aid to pay triple the price for an iPad with GPS chip so that I can then pay FF's high annual fee. Besides, I don't care for ios anyway.

I used to use Avare on Android, and it’s quite a capable app. Definitely nice that Android tablets normally put the GPS receiver on a separate chip from the cellular modem. But Apple doesn’t seem to have any trouble making money, so I assume their decision was very intentional

I switched to an iPad because I started using Garmin Pilot, and GP on Android is far behind the iOS feature set. I don’t like the iPad hardware or software as much as I liked my Android tablets, but GP is definitely more capable on iOS. And the integration with my all-Garmin panel is worth the additional cost over Avare to me.

 

[McMooney]

1 hour ago, toto said:

I think you can call the flyGamin people and talk through it with them. I’ve heard they are pretty good at figuring out the best option for your hardware. 

Also - if you’ve done this recently, they might very well give you a credit for money paid if the product was incorrect. 

Garmin recommended the pack,  it wasn't until i got in the plane that I realized safe taxi on the navigator is useless.

I already have safe taxi and most everything else gps related on my tablet and phone. 

Edited January 14 by McMooney

[EricJ]

23 minutes ago, toto said:

I used to use Avare on Android, and it’s quite a capable app. Definitely nice that Android tablets normally put the GPS receiver on a separate chip from the cellular modem. But Apple doesn’t seem to have any trouble making money, so I assume their decision was very intentional

I switched to an iPad because I started using Garmin Pilot, and GP on Android is far behind the iOS feature set. I don’t like the iPad hardware or software as much as I liked my Android tablets, but GP is definitely more capable on iOS. And the integration with my all-Garmin panel is worth the additional cost over Avare to me.

My tablets are all Android, and I used Avare for many years until the support started to go from bad to worse, and then they dropped the legacy program for a complete rewrite that seems to be pretty sub-par, imho.   A buddy had been using iFly, so I gave that a try and like it a lot, but it has zero support for CAP stuff, which I need.   I've kept the legacy Avare loaded on my tablets as backup, so I still use that in a pinch.  I'm expecting that I'll switch to the android version of Garmin Pilot in September when my iFly sub expires, so by then I'll have traversed essentially the entire universe of Android EFBs.   We'll see how it all goes, but I'm hoping I'll like GP enough to just land there and stay.

[dkkim73]

I've been trying GP for a few flights given the package inclusion of Premium. I'm still more used to Foreflight, but GP is pretty full featured. Have been using iPad Mini in plane, but accessing it from my Android phone is great for checking wx and briefs during the day before flight. 

IMHO it's worth a look. 

[PeteMc]

2 hours ago, Hank said:

Charts, approach plates and airport diagrams are part of (free) Alvarez, which runs on Android.

Alvarez or did you really mean Avare? 

 

[midlifeflyer]

8 hours ago, McMooney said:

there should be a class on database subscriptions.  I recently paid $$ for a sub to find out the recommended safe taxi and something else add on are completely useless on a gnc355

I have trouble imagining what a taxi diagram would look like on a 355 screen!

[midlifeflyer]

If it helps any, I am using both ForeFlight and Pilot. In terms of a switch, most really depends how easily you take to technology differences.  Overall, both apps will give you what you need and you’ll probably find 90% of the useful features are the same. The main difference is flow - how to get to what you want. In a nutshell, ForeFlight started as a flight planner with in-flight functionality. Pilot basically emulates Garmin’s GTN-family oanel mounts, including its menu system and flight plan entry (which can be a plus if you ate flying a Garmin panel). That difference in emphasis means some tasks will be easier in one the other.

the only way to know if the switch is worth the savings is to grab the trial and use it.

[Hank]

4 hours ago, PeteMc said:

Alvarez or did you really mean Avare? 

 

Stupid spelling changer! Avare!

[Z W]

Been a Garmin Pilot user for 10+ years. I don't like Apple products. I had Foreflight on an iPad when I first started flying but made the switch not long after and ditched the iPad.

I find GP very powerful and it does most everything a top-of-the-line Garmin panel will do and integrates nicely with those panels.

It's not the most user-friendly but gets a little better on that front every year. My father still uses Foreflight on an iPad and iPhone and finds them easier or more intuitive.

To each their own.

[PeteMc]

6 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

I have trouble imagining what a taxi diagram would look like on a 355 screen!

It just gives you more detail if you zoom all the way in.  Sort of like FF switching automatically to the Terminal Chart when you zoom in if there is on. 

Here's a screen grab from the GNC355 Trainer.  

[pmccand]

 

Avare for the Android is now available on the iPad as AvareX.  I thought it looked like a stripped down version of Avare, but it does 95% of the original. 

 

I just don't know which platform I dislike more.. Apple or Google.  Lord Sith, or Darth Vader...they both are players on the Dark Side of the Star Wars' empire.

 

Edited January 14 by pmccand

[EricJ]

3 minutes ago, pmccand said:

Avare for the Android is now available on the iPad as AvareX.  I thought it looked like a stripped down version of Avare, but it does 95% of the original. 

The capabilities are comparable but I found the user interface on Avarex to be unusable.    Seemed like a step backwards to be more cute and minimalist or something.  

[midlifeflyer]

2 hours ago, PeteMc said:

It just gives you more detail if you zoom all the way in.  Sort of like FF switching automatically to the Terminal Chart when you zoom in if there is on. 

Here's a screen grab from the GNC355 Trainer.  

Sorry, I should have said "looks like to use it."  The smallest iPhone has more screen real estate. YMMV, but that won't give me the situational awryness I want in a taxi diagram.

[PeteMc]

46 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said:

The smallest iPhone has more screen real estate. YMMV, but that won't give me the situational awryness I want in a taxi diagram.

Sure, I'd rather use FF with the full Airport Diagram.   But if both your iPads happen to die and that's all you have, it is better than just the round barbed Airport symbol from the Nav map.  And you can zoom in and out all you want, what I showed was just an example. 

 

[Hank]

2 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

Sorry, I should have said "looks like to use it."  The smallest iPhone has more screen real estate. YMMV, but that won't give me the situational awryness I want in a taxi diagram.

Is a call out for this really necessary? We should all do it at every airport, every time e we crank up the engine or land!

[midlifeflyer]

13 hours ago, Hank said:

Is a call out for this really necessary? We should all do it at every airport, every time e we crank up the engine or land!

No, it shouldn’t be necessary. Neither should “hot spots.” But I’m guessing some airports have had enough incursion issues to merit them. I’m betting on taxiway C at this airport being a problem. 

[GeeBee]

Some time back I was using FF (I now use Garmin Pilot) I did not know the app was open on my tablet. I had my iPad open reading on Kindle reader. Then I placed it in the seat back, in the back of a Delta jet taxing out at ATL Two Dead Mayors Airport when my iPad barks out loudly, "Approaching Runway 26L!". I smiled to my fellow of  passengers and said, "In case you did not know".

[Pinecone]

On 1/13/2025 at 10:21 PM, PeteMc said:

I thought you had to subscribe to Pilot separately, not as part of a DB subscription.  

I do know they give you a free Upgrade if you have the Basic version. 

 

Both are correct.

You have to pay for a Basic Pilot subscription.  And then, your One Pack gives you the Pro level upgrade for no extra cost.

IMO, they would get more people to us Pilot if they included both subscriptions in the One Pack.

I prefer FF, and get the MIL version for free by being a CAP pilot.