Garmin Pilot on an old iPad?

[smv]

Full disclosure: Last time I used an Apple product it was called an Apple IIe.

I have been running Gamin Pilot on a couple different Android tablets and have been overall pleased. However, Garmin seems to release new features on their iOS version earlier than on their Android version. Also, I would like to integrate Garmin Pilot with my TD2 and apparently the hardware is only compatible with the iOS version.

That said, I have the opportunity to pick up a "second gen iPad¹" for the best price ever (FREE!) and before either of us go through the time/trouble/expense of shipping it to me, I need to know if the current version of Garmin Pilot will run on a "second gen iPad". Garmin says "iOS 11.0 minimum" but is that actually a hard minimum or are some of you running GP on something less than 11.0? Apparently the highest this iPad will go is 9.3.

¹ I have no idea what that means as far as actual model goes... See my disclosure above.

 

[jordane93]

I doubt it will work. My girlfriend has an iPad 2 which she uses as an e-reader and she can barely get the e reader app to work. It’s just so slow.

 

[sarangan]

Full disclosure: Last time I used an Apple product it was called an Apple IIe.

I have been running Gamin Pilot on a couple different Android tablets and have been overall pleased. However, Garmin seems to release new features on their iOS version earlier than on their Android version. Also, I would like to integrate Garmin Pilot with my TD2 and apparently the hardware is only compatible with the iOS version.

That said, I have the opportunity to pick up a "second gen iPad¹" for the best price ever (FREE!) and before either of us go through the time/trouble/expense of shipping it to me, I need to know if the current version of Garmin Pilot will run on a "second gen iPad". Garmin says "iOS 11.0 minimum" but is that actually a hard minimum or are some of you running GP on something less than 11.0? Apparently the highest this iPad will go is 9.3.

¹ I have no idea what that means as far as actual model goes... See my disclosure above.

I don't know about the iPad, but Garmin Pilot ran extremely sluggishly on my Samsung Galaxy tablet (brand new). I abandoned Garmin Pilot and switched to Avare, and never looked back. Plus it is free.

 

[smv]

I doubt it will work. My girlfriend has an iPad 2 which she uses as an e-reader and she can barely get the e reader app to work. It’s just so slow.

Thank you.

 

[smv]

I don't know about the iPad, but Garmin Pilot ran extremely sluggishly on my Samsung Galaxy tablet (brand new). I abandoned Garmin Pilot and switched to Avare, and never looked back. Plus it is free.

I also have Avare (and FltPlan Go and would like to try FlyQ EFB but that is another app that treats Android like a red-headed step-child) but there are additional features in the Garmin App that I like that the other two do not have.

I have found that if you try to overload the app with excessive downloads, it can take quite some time to startup and get running (I think it is validating them even if you have "Auto Update" turned off).

Initially I was running it with everything I could download. Once I scaled back to just those products that I was actually likely to use, it got a LOT better. If you have a connecton and are trying to access something (like an area of sectional or Low Enroute) that you have not yet downloaded, Pilot will go out and grab it seamlessly... Avare simply says "Go get it yerself!" and shows you a black screen.

 

[smv]

I don't know about the iPad, but Garmin Pilot ran extremely sluggishly on my Samsung Galaxy tablet (brand new). I abandoned Garmin Pilot and switched to Avare, and never looked back. Plus it is free.

Forgot to mention the two Android tabs I am using for Garmin Pilot. Galaxy Tab A and Galaxy Tab S4. They both work well just so long as I do not try to stuff them too full of downloads.

It was the Tab A that tracked this flight (all while tracking traffic through a GDL-50 and showing me the animated inbound rain storms):

 

[sarangan]

I also have Avare (and FltPlan Go and would like to try FlyQ EFB but that is another app that treats Android like a red-headed step-child) but there are additional features in the Garmin App that I like that the other two do not have.

I have found that if you try to overload the app with excessive downloads, it can take quite some time to startup and get running (I think it is validating them even if you have "Auto Update" turned off).

Initially I was running it with everything I could download. Once I scaled back to just those products that I was actually likely to use, it got a LOT better. If you have a connecton and are trying to access something (like an area of sectional or Low Enroute) that you have not yet downloaded, Pilot will go out and grab it seamlessly... Avare simply says "Go get it yerself!" and shows you a black screen.

That's good to know. I am curious, what useful features you found in Garmin Pilot that the others don't have.

There is another reason I abandoned Garmin. It only seemed to work with Garmin brand ADSB receivers. No stratus, stratux etc...

 

[smv]

That's good to know. I am curious, what useful features you found in Garmin Pilot that the others don't have.

Auto flight logging comes in handy, especially on a busy CFI day. SynVis that demands I rotate my landscape tablet into portrait mode is also a deal-breaker... I hate any app that thinks it know better how to orient my tablet.



Being able to do background updates is pretty nice as well. If I get behind on my updates (like when new IAPs are released) I can hit "Update All" and go on to do other things with the tablet. Try that with Avare and it immediately stops the download as soon as focus is taken from the download progress status.

There is another reason I abandoned Garmin. It only seemed to work with Garmin brand ADSB receivers. No stratus, stratux etc...

Well... I kind of agree, but it is nice that they can focus on making what they support work well rather than trying to accomodate every backyard electonic engineer's device that comes along...

 

[smv]

Well... I kind of agree, but it is nice that they can focus on making what they support work well rather than trying to accomodate every backyard electonic engineer's device that comes along...

P.S. The GDL-50 was a B-day present from my wife... I was not ready to drop $700 on it but she insisted...

 

[sarangan]

Auto flight logging comes in handy, especially on a busy CFI day. SynVis that demands I rotate my landscape tablet into portrait mode is also a deal-breaker... I hate any app that thinks it know better how to orient my tablet.

View attachment 81978

Being able to do background updates is pretty nice as well. If I get behind on my updates (like when new IAPs are released) I can hit "Update All" and go on to do other things with the tablet. Try that with Avare and it immediately stops the download as soon as focus is taken from the download progress status.



Well... I kind of agree, but it is nice that they can focus on making what they support work well rather than trying to accomodate every backyard electonic engineer's device that comes along...

You're right. Autologging is a useful feature. The nice thing about avare is that you can write your own features if you are familiar with java. Having said that, I haven't really done any custom coding, at least not yet.

 

[smv]

You're right. Autologging is a useful feature. The nice thing about avare is that you can write your own features if you are familiar with java. Having said that, I haven't really done any custom coding, at least not yet.

That would be pretty handy but finding the time to learn a new code is not in my near future. That is another thing I have not done in literally decades.

 

[Van Johnston]

I bought my oldest iPad in 2012. I think it was an iPad 2 with the first retina display. 16MB. Not sure what iOS it stoppped on (can't find it this morning) but it is still running GP, albeit slow.

Learned my lesson and bought iPad Air 2 in 2015 w/ 128MB. It has slowed some over time but otherwise works fine still.

 

[smv]

That's good to know. I am curious, what useful features you found in Garmin Pilot that the others don't have.

Perhaps I am mis-remembering but I could have sworn that Avare had ADS-B traffic as well. Looking at it now I cannot seem to find that feature. I see it on FltPlanGo (and of course GP) but the only reference to ADS-B in Avare that I can find is for "ADS-B Weather"........?

 

[smv]

I bought my oldest iPad in 2012. I think it was an iPad 2 with the first retina display. 16MB. Not sure what iOS it stoppped on (can't find it this morning) but it is still running GP, albeit slow.

Learned my lesson and bought iPad Air 2 in 2015 w/ 128MB. It has slowed some over time but otherwise works fine still.

Yah... It looks like new and 'fresh' (along with more than 16GB storage since it appears that Apple refuses to put an SD slot on these things?? ) might have to be the way to go. Fortunately I have a very supportive wife who supports... ney encourages... me in these endeavors.

 

[MooneyDriver78]

Don’t bother, I ran GP on a mini 2, it was fine until... The ADSB traffic and weather slowed it down. Then came glide rings. Dynamic maps also slow it down. So if you don’t mind crippling it, it could work.
Thats why FltPlan/Avare work faster, less functionality, basically just static maps with your position.

 

[Matthew]

Perhaps I am mis-remembering but I could have sworn that Avare had ADS-B traffic as well. Looking at it now I cannot seem to find that feature. I see it on FltPlanGo (and of course GP) but the only reference to ADS-B in Avare that I can find is for "ADS-B Weather"........?

I used Avare with ADSB traffic to and from OSH this year.

You need a Stratux or similar, and you need to load and run a separate app that communicates with it. Start that app, then start Avare and enable it for ADSB weather and you'll get the weather and traffic. I did have to fumble around with it a bit to get it all talking, the Stratux isn't mine so I can't play with it very often.

 

[smv]

Don’t bother, I ran GP on a mini 2, it was fine until... The ADSB traffic and weather slowed it down. Then came glide rings. Dynamic maps also slow it down. So if you don’t mind crippling it, it could work.
Thats why FltPlan/Avare work faster, less functionality, basically just static maps with your position.

Thank you. Traffic, weather, glide rings, moving maps... All the things I use the tablet for during cross-country flying... Not to mention integration with the TD2 during instrument practice... Looks like a new one is in my future.

 

[smv]

I used Avare with ADSB traffic to and from OSH this year.

You need a Stratux or similar, and you need to load and run a separate app that communicates with it. Start that app, then start Avare and enable it for ADSB weather and you'll get the weather and traffic. I did have to fumble around with it a bit to get it all talking, the Stratux isn't mine so I can't play with it very often.

Ahhh... There ya go. I could have sworn the capability was there, I just never pursued it that far. Thank you.

 

[Matthew]

Ahhh... There ya go. I could have sworn the capability was there, I just never pursued it that far. Thank you.

I don't have my tablet handy right now, but it does work. You do need to take a couple of extra steps to get everything talking. The other part of it is, when you enable Avare to get ADSB as the weather source and then disconnect from ADSB, Avare won't reset to get wx from online sources. That took me a little while to figure out why I couldn't get any wx, I had to go back into the settings and turn off ADSB as the wx source.

I think the GPS settings for Avare allows for "internal", "external", and "both", but it doesn't work that way for the wx.

Traffic just sort of appears, I don't think there's a way to enable or disable it. Once the Stratux stars talking, Avare will be listening.

 

[sarangan]

I used Avare with ADSB traffic to and from OSH this year.

You need a Stratux or similar, and you need to load and run a separate app that communicates with it. Start that app, then start Avare and enable it for ADSB weather and you'll get the weather and traffic. I did have to fumble around with it a bit to get it all talking, the Stratux isn't mine so I can't play with it very often.

Avare has ADS-B built-in. You no longer need the separate app.

 

[smv]

Avare has ADS-B built-in. You no longer need the separate app.

Looks like it only uses WiFi ADS-B connections. My GDL-50 only does Bluetooth...

Oh well...

 

[lancie00]

Does it work? Yes. Is it slower than snot? Yes. I've used it on my 2012 iPad II but I wouldn't want to be in the soup relying on it for approach plates or low level IFR charts. It takes WAY too long to load.

 

[smv]

Does it work? Yes. Is it slower than snot? Yes. I've used it on my 2012 iPad II but I wouldn't want to be in the soup relying on it for approach plates or low level IFR charts. It takes WAY too long to load.

Thank you. Looks like we have something on which to spend our CostCo rewards this year.