I am debating whether it's safer to leave my 396 in the plane, or take
it with me in a rental car that might be parked downtown, etc. I
highly suspect the plane is safer, but just wondering if anyone has any
history.

That's one of the nice things about the Garmin 396/496 series -- you
can use 'em in your rental car for navigation on the roads.

For that reason alone I'd take it with me, although I've never had
anything stolen from a plane...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"