Garmin has introduced SmartCharts, a new aviation charting solution integrated into the Garmin Pilot app.
Besides aiming to simplify pilots’ experience by delivering clear, tailored data for specific flight operations, the solution also enables them to view simplified terminal procedures like instrument approach procedures (IAP), departure procedures (DP), standard terminal arrivals (STAR), and airport diagrams.
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SmartCharts was developed by digitising data from global sources to offer a consistent and scalable platform.
Its user interface, combined with the digital data, enables SmartCharts to automatically adjust and scale as the pilot zooms and pans through the chart, much like Garmin’s data-driven maps across its complete product line.
The capability to scale the chart is claimed to provide a more precise view of the information required for flying instrument procedures.
The digitised data also enables automatic adjustments to minima, such as changes in minima height due to NOTAMs or alternate minimums, thereby reducing the need for pilots to perform mental calculations.
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By GlobalDataIts Brief tabs present optimised briefing information at key moments during procedure reviews.
SmartCharts is also stated to streamline pilot workflow by displaying only relevant data. Pilots can select aircraft type, route transitions, runways, and other parameters to filter information, showing them only the necessary routing, fixes, and restrictions.
Quick Access buttons provide instant access to briefing details, communication frequencies, and graphical missed approach icons, tailored to the procedure’s phase.
Garmin Aviation managing director and executive vice president Phil Straub said: “Terminal procedures have long been cluttered with outdated or superfluous information that may not be relevant to a pilot’s flight, obscuring important details that could be easily missed.
“Garmin SmartCharts allows all pilots to quickly and easily tailor procedures to highlight the most relevant and key information in a simplified, optimised format to ultimately help to enhance safety and situational awareness.”
During an approach procedure, minima are updated and offered to the pilot via selection buttons for aircraft category, approach type, and factors such as altimeter settings or inoperative airport lighting, thereby presenting a single minima value and removing the requirement for calculations associated with traditional charts.
The system’s intuitive interface supports efficient briefing, with buttons for Brief, COMs, and Missed Approach, highlighting essential information.
Reselecting transitions or runways simplifies re-briefing and enhancing situational awareness. Altitude, speed restrictions, and other details are also displayed on the SmartCharts plan view of approach, arrival and departure procedures.
The geo-referenced vertical profile view shows the aircraft’s altitude relative to the approach path, terrain, and obstacles.
SmartCharts is also claimed to enhance airport diagrams with details such as lighting systems, hold short lines, and windsock locations. Quick Access buttons on these diagrams provide communication frequencies, runway data, and alternate minimums data.
The Garmin Pilot app now features a Show with Minima sorting feature on the airport tab, allowing pilots to filter approaches by criteria such as lowest minimums by altitude or available approach lighting.
Smart Binders group charts by type for easier navigation. SmartCharts is available via a Garmin Pilot Premium subscription for iOS devices in the US and the Bahamas at launch.
Recently, Garmin announced the expansion of its Navigation Database to cover the South Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand.
