GPS Device...Which one do you like?

[Tailwind]

A friend of mine wants $130 for his Magellan 315 Aviation.
Is that a good unit/deal?

If not, which unit works better for flying in bug smashers?

My price range: $100-200

Thanks,

Tailwind

 

[sky37d]

In that price range, they are all about equal, eg, not real useful.
Spend more money, you get more features.
I fly with the C-Map EXP IIIC http://aviation.c-map.com/
It is color, moving map, has frequencies, airspace, tracks your flight progress, great for determining how well you really did on a hold.
Updates happen every 56 days, has VNAV, HSI, etc, etc.

 

[fLYbUDDY]

its all about the garmin 196!

 

[flywithastick]

It's all about one word - Garmin!!! The 196 will probably be my next choice. Have used the 295 quite a bit. Own a Pilot III and an eTrek. You want something good in the $100 range, the eTrek is the answer IMO. Some will say Magellan 315(?) maybe. You can get airport info off the web and dump into these. Can also do it with the eTrek I've heard, but I've never seen it done.

I use my eTrek as a backup or to follow along on cross countries with students. Get the lat/long out of the AFD and punch in the airports for your trip. The eTrek has some other features I like. Very small (size of a pack of cigs), very easy on batteries, acquires signal very readily and just as accurate as the $1000 handhelds.

This is my recommendation based on your price requirements. You have $4-500, get something with airspace overlays. See my first comment at the top.

 

[siucavflight]

I just got the 196 three days ago. It is an incredible GPS. Well worth the money (1,000).

 

[wingnutt]

Garmin III...go to ebay, i got mine for 250 clams. you hafta bookmark the auctions, and watch em closely, maybe even email a seller or two, but it paid off for me. bang for the buck, you cant beat it

 

[cessna_driver2]

I have the lowrance airmap 100. For basic navigation it the simplest to use. IMHO.

Doesn't the 196 have the approaches?

 

[guyincognito]

I have an old Garmin 90 (which I think is now the 92) and think it works great for the flying I do. It has all the airports/navaids/airspace (except for class D) and it's small and user friendly. You could probably pick up one of those up on ebay for cheap. My database is out of date but all the airports are still in the same place and I don't really use if for frequencies. I'm sure a lot of the airspace has also changed now, but a little cross reference with a current chart and I'm good to go.

I'd love to pick up a 196, but can't quite justify it for the little flying I currently do...

 

[siucavflight]

Yes the 196 does have approaches, it has a built in HSI. It is really worth the 1000 dollars that garmin charges.

 

[kwb13]

The Garmin 92 is probably your best bet for that price. It has a 12 channel reciever versus the old 8 channel in the 90. They both are discontinued by Garmin which means you won't be able to get updates anymore for it, other than that the accessories that fit the new expensive one's (196,295) also fit the old reliable 92, so parts are still available. The 196 is a great machine if you can afford it. Well worth the money.

Don't touch a Magellan! You can't get anything as far as parts, updates, repairs for them! Magellan has totally turned thier back on aviation GPS's.

You may be able to find a III pilot for a little bit more money.

Good luck!