Garmin aera 500 Color Touchscreen Aviation GPS (Americas) Review
Garmin aera 500 Color Touchscreen Aviation GPS (Americas) Feature
- Easy-to-use touchscreen interface
- Bright 4.3" diagonal, color display
- Lithium-ion battery - lasts up to five hours, depending on usage and settings
- Flight log: At least 30 most recent flights
- High-sensitivity GPS receiver with WAAS position accuracy for improved performance and reception
Garmin aera 500 Color Touchscreen Aviation GPS (Americas) Overview
Garmin's aera series of dual-duty GPS portables offer easy transition from flying to motoring – by combining the best in moving-map display features with intuitive, menu-driven touchscreen control. With aera, fingertip navigation has entered a whole new era: One that streamlines operation. Eliminates knobs and buttons. Simplifies the pilot/motorist interface. And lets you think in terms of door-to-door guidance, not just runway-to-runway.
Check Out the aera 500There are four aera models in the Garmin lineup, offering a full range of cost/capability choices. The first and most affordable unit in the series is the aera 500. Featuring a crisp 4.3-inch QVGA wide-format touchscreen and pre-loaded graphical mapping, this versatile, feature-rich unit comes ready for takeoff, right out of the box.
Fly aera. AnywheraIn aviation mode, the aera 500's detailed chart-style shaded mapping and extensive terrain and aviation databases help you visualize your flight path in relation to nearby navaids, terrain, SUAs, obstructions, and so on. To help keep pilots aware of special airspace activity, over 683 parachute drop zones are detailed in the Americas navigation database. Plus, the addition of private airports and heliports to the database affords even more navigation and emergency "nearest" options. A database-driven terrain advisory feature offers TAWS-like color coding and pop-up alerts when possible obstructions or ground proximity conflicts loom ahead.
Built to Fly. Born to RunOnce your aircraft returns to terra firma, the fun of aera navigation continues with full automotive GPS capability and preloaded City Navigator® NT street mapping. Operating much like Garmin's popular nüvi® line of touchscreen auto navigators, your aera 500 offers voice-guided turn-by-turn directions with text-to-speech audio technology that calls out streets by name.
Garmin aera 500 Color Touchscreen Aviation GPS (Americas) Specifications
Garmin's aera series of dual-duty GPS portables offer easy transition from flying to motoring--by combining the best in moving-map display features with intuitive, menu-driven touchscreen control. With aera, fingertip navigation has entered a whole new era: One that streamlines operation. Eliminates knobs and buttons. Simplifies the pilot/motorist interface. And lets you think in terms of door-to-door guidance, not just runway-to-runway.
 Garmin's aera series of dual-duty GPS portables offer easy transition from flying to driving. |
 GPS-derived "Panel" page instrument reference. |
 IFR map mode shows high and low enroute airways. |
 Terrain page offers overhead and vertical profile views. |
 Preloaded with Americas terrain database. Click to enlarge coverage map. |
 Preloaded City Navigator NT mapping makes street navigation easy. |
The Garmin aera 500
There are four aera models in the Garmin lineup, offering a full range of cost/capability choices. The first and most affordable unit in the series is the aera 500. Featuring a crisp 4.3-inch QVGA wide-format touchscreen and pre-loaded graphical mapping, this versatile, feature-rich unit comes ready for takeoff, right out of the box.
Fly Anywhere
In aviation mode, the aera 500's detailed chart-style shaded mapping and extensive terrain and aviation databases help you visualize your flight path in relation to nearby navaids, terrain, SUAs, obstructions, and so on. To help keep pilots aware of special airspace activity, over 683 parachute drop zones are detailed in the Americas navigation database. Plus, the addition of private airports and heliports to the database affords even more navigation and emergency �nearest" options. A database-driven terrain advisory feature offers TAWS-like color coding and pop-up alerts when possible obstructions or ground proximity conflicts loom ahead. And with terrain/obstacle data shown at standard 30 arc-second resolution, you'll enjoy a surprising level of detail on the display. The unit's graphical Terrain page offers both overhead and vertical profile views of the topography you're flying over. What's more, there's an IFR map mode that lets you display and navigate on high or low enroute airways. You can also pull up MEAs (Minimum Enroute Altitudes) and distances between intersections by touching the airway on the map. As in all the aera models, GPS updating is provided at a super-fast 5 Hz rate. And for added safety, an optional power/data cable (sold separately) makes it easy to interface your aera 500 with the Garmin GTX 330 Mode S transponder in your aircraft, so you can access and display TIS traffic alerts in busy terminal airspace. What's more, you can also use the aera to load communications frequencies into your Garmin SL 40 Comm or SL 30 Nav/Comm transceiver.
Built to Fly, Born to Run
Once your aircraft returns to terra firma, the fun of aera navigation continues with full automotive GPS capability and preloaded City Navigator NT street mapping. Operating much like Garmin's popular n�vi line of touchscreen auto navigators, your aera 500 offers voice-guided turn-by-turn directions with text-to-speech audio technology that calls out streets by name. In addition, there's built-in Bluetooth support for wireless hands-free calling with your compatible mobile phone. And the aera's built-in �points of interest" database offers helpful guidance to millions of motels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and other local attractions. To further speed your transition from aircraft to automotive mode, a unique "smart mount" for the aera offers instant clip-and-go car navigation.
About the Jeppesen Database
The aera includes an internal Jeppesen database that provides location and facility information for thousands of airports, VORs, NDBs, and more. Updates to the Jeppesen database are available every 28 days online, and the database includes the following information:
- Airport--identifier, facility name, city/state/country, latitude/longitude, field elevation, available fuel types, runway designations and layout, runway surface, runway length, runway width, runway lighting, communication frequencies, and published approaches.
- Weather--frequencies associated with an airport (ASOS, ATIS, and AWOS).
- VORs--identifier, facility name, city/state/country, location (latitude/longitude), frequency, service volume (high, low, terminal), and type (such as VOR-DME, TACAN, and VORTAC).
- NDBs--identifier, facility name, city/state/country, location (latitude/longitude), and frequency.
- Intersections--identifier, nearest VOR, radial and distance from nearest VOR, location (latitude/longitude), and region/country.
- ARTCC--Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
- Airspace--boundaries (Class B, Class C, Control Zones, SUAs, and MOAs), controlling agency, and vertical boundaries.
- FSS--Flight Service Stations.
Americas Terrain Database
Enhance situational awareness with the Terrain Aviation Database. This digital database contains the elevation data which represents the topography of the earth. Using this information, your Garmin aviation GPS monitors your current position in relation to surrounding terrain to provide alerts--giving you additional time to make critical decisions regarding the flight path. Since Terrain data does not include man-made objects (towers, airports, VORs etc.), updates to Terrain data do not occur on a regular basis.
The download process for Terrain updates is simple and convenient. Simply plug in your aviation device, download and go.
About City Navigator NT
With nearly 6 million points of interest and road coverage for U.S., Canada and Mexico, plus Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas, City Navigator North America NT gives you everything you need to travel North America. Powered by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality digital map data, City Navigator brings you the most detailed street maps available so you can navigate with exact, turn-by-turn directions to any address or intersection.
- Provides nearly 6 million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, parking, entertainment, fuel and shopping.
- Includes new extended coverage for Mexico.
- Includes highways, interstates, and business and residential roads in metropolitan and rural areas.
- Includes turn restrictions, roundabout guidance, speed categories.
- Gives turn-by-turn directions.
- Includes postal code support for Canada.
- Speaks street names (example: "Turn right on Main Street.").
What's in the Box
aera 500, Free Single Database Update, Yoke Mount with Power Cable, Battery Pack, Portable Friction Mount, USB Cable, Vehicle Power Cable, Pilot's Guide and Owner's Manual
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Feb 01, 2011 03:00:17
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