Garmin GPSMAP 696 Color Portable Aviation GPS

I have been a Garmin fan for years and learned to fly IFR in a 430 equipped C 172. I sold my Garmin 396 when I started with the airlines. I thought the technology would go with the tablets so I kept watching all my friends with Fore-flight and it seems anybody that's anybody has that set up. Problem is that when you exit the large aircraft and climb in the smaller ones you have nothing for weather. Now with a turbo-prop or jet you can fly around or over most of the real ugly stuff but with a 182 in the mountains you have fewer options. I for one need to know what that pricip ahead amounts to. Is it a shower or a squall line? Can I get around the mess? Because I sure can't get over it in my tiny tin. As I write this I see some progress towards real time weather on the pads but it takes some big$$ and multiple units to maintain and keep power to. One thing for sure is this Garmin is PURE aviation and does't skip a second of information. The screen is just the right size to still fit on the yoke and we already know how to run it because it is a Garmin. So as it turns out I'll be toting my portable Garmin around wherever the wings take me (it is sort of heavy) and paying XM to show me the storms. I hate the payments but when your butt is on the line it's priceless. I also have used the Garmin terrain page to save my bacon more than once when the vis went to crap and me in the valley between 14-15k cumulo-granite ..pucker..pucker Like I said priceless in small planes. - Customer Reviews

Product Description Garmin GPSMAP 696 Color Portable Aviation GPS Meet Garmin's ultimate portable MFD: the GPSMAP 696, an all-in-one navigator designed exclusively for aviation. Featuring a large screen, detailed electronic charts and real-time weather, the 696 is your own personal avionics system. See the Big Picture The GPSMAP 696's bright 7-inch diagonal high-definition sunlight-readable display makes detailed mapping easy to see day or night — you can even view an entire approach plate on the large-format display. For easy operation, the bezel around the screen includes soft keys and a joystick control. And with a fast 5 Hz GPS update rate, the 696 renders graphics and presents flight data smoothly and continuously.

Product Features
• Large 7-inch diagonal WVGA sunlight readable display
• XM weather and audio capability
• 5 Hz High-sensitivity GPS receiver
• Preloaded Terrain database, Obstacles database (U.S. and Europe only), SafeTaxi™ airport diagrams (U.S. only), AOPA Airport Directory (U.S. only), Garmin FliteCharts® (U.S. only), low & high altitude enroute airways
• SD card slot for additional Garmin mapping data

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