TJ wrote:

Hi,

So, which is the best GPS unit to buy for
eventual use in a sailplane?

Having just moved from a Lowrance Airmap 300 to a Garmin 196, I'll
note a couple of thoughts. I really like the 196 and, if the price
isn't a barrier, would highly recommend it. It has a number of
improvements over both of my prior gps's, the even earlier one being a
Garmin 95XL.

In addition to the usually discussed features (high resolution screen,
fast redraws, great user interface), the fast processor allows the
"nearest page" to update distances in real time, so I can watch my
distance to several airports (or user waypoints) with just one button
push. The nearest page also has a "recent" tab so it's easy to toggle
back and forth between two airports, obviously helpful in soaring.

My one big complaint pertains to SUA. When there are multiple SUA's at
an x,y point (like my home base of Hayward, CA KHWD, where the class D
airspace goes to 1500 MSL, Oakland's class C airspace overlies that,
and SFO's class B airspace overlies that, when I scroll to that area
to see the SUA's, the unit only gives one of them, usually the class D
airspace. My Lowarance (and maybe even the 95XL, tho my memory dims
that far back) showed ALL airspace, clearly much better. I emailed
Garmin on this and they basically said "it's supposed to work that
way." OK, but not good. This complaint is not likely to affect most
soaring pilots though there are some restricted areas that have
multiple layers and you might inadvertently think you're safe flying
at some altitude when you're not. Admittedly, you'll get an alarm
before you penetrate the SUA, but that's not as good as knowing
further in advance.

Hope this helps.

Martin