Garmin Aera 510 Review

Just purchased a new Garmin Aera 510. We are very pleased with display, functions and features. On our most recent cross country, the Wx feature helped us steer clear of some weather and made the trip much more enjoyable. The touch screen works great. We choose the 510 over the 560 to save some bucks ($700). We decided looking out the wind screen at the taxi ways was safer than " Safe Taxi " Also, the data base includes adequate airport information without paying extra for the AOPA Directory.

How was the screen visibility in sun? I have mine installed in the panel, but haven't really used it much yet. However, while taxiing around (all I have done so far) it seems a bit dull.

We installed ours on a Ram Mount and swing the unit for the best viewing.
We also have a shade on the canopy.

I have found the display just fine for an RV panel in the Sun. I do not have a Sun shade yet.

I have been flying for a couple weeks now with mine and I usually climb up into full sunshine and since I am like a fish in a bowl, I have had this thing at every possible Sun angle possible and I have never had a problem seeing the display. I wear cheap polarized sunglasses most of the time.

I have my 510 in the top of the radio stack which is centered more or less in my panel. I did have an angle adaptor because it made my prior 296 easier to see. I am not sure the 510 would need it but it was already there so I left it.

The 296 was horrible when you were off axis with the screen...The 510 does not seem like it is as bad off axis.

Word of warning though... The Aera units suck the battery much faster than the X96 series. With the XM antenna attached it sucks it really fast!!! Might be a concern if you are using the GPS as a third level backup...

510 sound like the ticket

Brantel said:

I have found the display just fine for an RV panel in the Sun. I do not have a Sun shade yet.

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Brian, I really wanted to check out your GPS Saturday, but after being out in the sun all day, I just wanted to get into some cool air. It was 40 something up at 12,500 and it felt good

I'm glad you guys talked about the cost differance between the 510 and 560. I don't think Safe taxi and AOPA directory is worth $700. That savings will just about get you weather for two year won't it? I'll be looking hard at a 510. I figure Oshkosh will have them about $100 off and I think Spruce will honer that price over the phone if so I might get one.

Display difference ?

I understand the 510 has lower resolution than the 560. Is the difference noticeable? Is the display plus the other features worth the additional 700.00?

638RS said:

I understand the 510 has lower resolution than the 560. Is the difference noticeable? Is the display plus the other features worth the additional 700.00?

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The actual screen resolution is the same between the 510 and 560. The difference is the resolution of the terrain database. In other words, the terrain will look less blocky on the 560. Everything else will be identical between the units.

I'm finding my Aera 500 (same screen as 510/550/560) to be a little hard to read when the sun gets behind me, shining on the screen. I have it mounted front and center on my panel, because that's where the previous owner had the 296 mounted. When/if I re-do the panel i'll move it to a more central location, and probably add a sunshade of some sort.

I find it's worse with my sunglasses on, or with the tinted visor on my helmet down.

Update Garmin Aera Data Base

Just a note to those who haven't done an update, a data cable plug can be found behind the battery cover

i have been flying my area 500 for the last 3-4 months... and i love it ... the biggest reason i purchased it was for the terrain option... and i like how she yells at me when i am in a slip or descending to fast.. Sink rate ///Sink Rate.. pull up..


Or when i am in an area i haven't been and get and audio alert and it puts the little radar on screen of where the tower is in reference to me..

Generally i like it for the awareness it provides.. i have found direct high noon glare to suck a little but overall its a pleasure to work with..

Lane assist

I noticed that the 510 does not have a feature that I think I'd like, the 560 has Lane assist and I've noticed using my 296 that it telling what lane to be in is very helpful while using it to drive (not so much when flying

Bobby,

The 510 has kind of a 3D mode on the auto mode that makes this much easier than the 296 flat roads.

High premium to pay for that feature....

The 500/510 don't have lane assist when driving, but if there are multiple lanes and you need to be in one of them, an icon pops up in the top corner that shows the number of lanes, where they go, and which one you need. This isn't lane assist, it's just a small subset. I find it to be adequate for my needs, but i've never had too much trouble navigating.

I got me one!

Well I got me a 510 off ebay, waiting for the previous owner to delete it off of his account so I can register it and update it.

Brantel did you get a bare wire mount to install it in your plane?

I have had a 560 since they were introduced in November at the AOPA Expo. I've also had a 510. I prefer the 560.

The 560 has an upgraded Automotive GPS, AOPA Airport, Safetaxi and Enhanced Terrain. The 510 does not. The Safetaxi is a feature I really like and use on most flights. You also get 1 years worth of FREE database updates on the 560. If you update your GPS monthly as I do the cost to update a 510 for a year is about $500. Easy to justify the cost difference to buy the 560.

I've also owned a 296, 396, 496 and 696 (still have this). I use my 560 way more than I ever did the x96 units.

I take my 560 whenever I travel. I use it in rental cars. It is soooo much better car GPS than the x96. You can slip it in your pocket when you leave the car. Also all of the connections are made on the back of the unit when snapped in the cradle. No wires to plug-in/unplug.

Forgot to mention the 560 comes with the carry case, the 510 does not. Its a nice case and sells for $25.

I am finding it hard to see in bright light. I need to install a glare shield.

apkp777 said:

I am finding it hard to see in bright light. I need to install a glare shield.

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Have not experienced that in my DA20. I have the unit suctioned cupped to the left on the inside of the canopy. There is some shading on the DA20 canopy although not much

Bobby,

I used the AirGizmo mount and bought the bare wire cable from ACS....

bhester said:

While I got me a 510 off ebay, waiting for the previous owner to delete it off of his account so I can register it and update it.

Brantel did you get a bare wire mount to install it in your plane?

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apkp777 said:

I am finding it hard to see in bright light. I need to install a glare shield.

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No problems here...

How/where is yours mounted... In front of you.. off to the side... angled... ect..

Do you use sunglasses and if so are they polarized?

Some sunglasses are polarized and if you tilt your head when looking at LCD screens they can appear to fade away to black. If your glasses are polarized and the polarization does not agree with the screen, that could be blocking some of your brightness.

I use cheap polarized shades that are correctly aligned with my screens in my plane and they help prevent the glare that the sun can cause on lcd screens.

I have only found one position where I have an issue with the Sun and my 510 and that is when the Sun is low in the sky and at my 6.. In this case I get a direct reflection back in my face... I doubt any LCD screen would do any better in that situation. I solve that problem by moving my head to provide shade for the screen and it works great...

Same goes for my super brite Dynon screens.

Brantel said:

I used the AirGizmo mount and bought the bare wire cable from ACS....

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Just curious...with the Aera mounted in the panel using an AirGizmo mount, do you need to use an external GPS antenna or does the internal antenna still pick up a decent signal?

I bought an external antenna but I have never put it in the plane.

The Aera works fine without an external antenna in the Airgizmo (with horizontal tilt adapter) and an RV7 mounted in the top of the radio stack which is center panel.....

The Aera has an amazingly sensitive GPS receiver!!!!!

esjacoby77 said:

Just curious...with the Aera mounted in the panel using an AirGizmo mount, do you need to use an external GPS antenna or does the internal antenna still pick up a decent signal?

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I just mounted my 510 last night. So far is seems good. It was noticeable more dim than my old 295 but after .8 hours of flying it I thing I stopped noticing. I like North up but it's harder to do on the 510 than the 295. I guess I can learn Track up. XM Weather looks like it will be great. I took off last night (5 PM kinda night) and climbed till I hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit (6500') then pointed the airplane right at what should be a thunderstorm a few miles away. I lifted my head and sure enough, there was a thunderstorm in front of me. Maybe I'll try it over a longer XC this weekend.

Download from FliteStar

Has anybody figured out how to download a flight plan from Jepp's FliteStar to an Aera. I do it all the time with my 496 and 696, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do it with my 510.

I use the 496 and 696 at work, and love both of them. The 696 has the great display, but for me the 496 is easier to get around on.

I use the 510 in my own plane, because of it's size and weight, an important consideration in a homebuilt. But I don't really like touch screens, so I just kind of live it rather than like it. I haven't noticed that the screen is dim at all, but in my plane it's kind of shielded from the sun.

RV-8A, Long-EZ

Updated Pirep on the AERA 510

I have been using my AERA for about 65 hours now and thought it would be good to give an update.

First, let me say that I haven't spent enough time yet to utilize all the features. But I have used most and am using it more and more.

First what I don't like,

I am still finding it difficult to read in direct sunlight. My SkyView has no issues at all, but the 510 really becomes difficult to see in direct light. I have it hard mounted so I can't move it around, which I am sure would help significantly. I do have the back light brightness set to "10". I'd have to give it a failing review of 5 out of 10 for direct sunlight readability . Low light and overcast it gets a 10 out of 10. I may eventually work on my installation to improve things. However, I have it flat mounted to my panel (not in a dock) and it looks pretty good. The yoke mount that it came with really sticks away from the panel and I am not a big fan of that.

For those that like the NRST function on the other Garmin or portable units, the 510 leaves a bit to be desired. You have to navigate to the main menu, then nearest menu, then you can get to the list of nearest airports, navaids, etc. Probably one or two additional steps at least. I'd give it a 8 out of 10 for that.

The only other issue is that the touch screen does take a little bit of dexterity to get right. It's not hard to use by any means, but you do have to take your time to input info. I can't type or text very well either so this is probably more a personal problem. I'd give it a 7 out of 10

Now the good stuff. I have not had any troubles with it booting up, error messages or anything unusual. Seems to be a solid unit. 10 out of 10 for quality and function. Also, no problems with using the built in antenna.

I like the info that it displays. I can set the map to be clutter or just show what I want to see. The "refresh" rate is fine, I think it's smooth and has a sufficient processor. 10 out of 10 for that

The main map page is able to display all the basic GPS stuff, plus 4 selectable parameters. This I really like. You can select from about 10 or 15 things you want on your main page. I currently have displayed, LOCAL ALTIMETER, GROUND WINDS, ETE, NEXT WPT. Viewing the other parameters is pretty simple but does require two taps. Gets a 9 out of 10 for display info.

Some of the other pages are weight and balance, E6b, aircraft profile, user wpts, numbers, log book (great) etc. All 10 out of 10 for sure.

The terrain function is adequate, I don't have the audio hooked up to my intercom, but the volume is on 10 and I can hear the voice in my panel talking to me (or it could be the voice in my head, she hasn't answered my questions so it must be the Garmin). Since I have SV and SkyView, terrain is not a function that I use much.

I really like that my SkyView can display the RMI (pointer) and HSI, DIST, ETE, and VNAV from the unit. VNAV is great and no more math on planning my descents, just follow the glideslope along my predetermined rate of descent. 10 out of 10.

Now for XM. Wow, I does anyone live without that! This is the first time I have flow with on board weather except for a couple of multi's I have flow with basic radar, which leaves a LOT to be desired.

XM is amazing and I have the basic $35/month plan. It takes a couple minutes for it connect, but then its there all the time. I can get AWOS, ASOS, TFR's, RADAR, etc, etc. Since its designed for XM all the menus have weather functions and its just perfect. 10 out of 10.

Approaches are great. I have only flown 2 with it and its all you would expect for a GPS approach. I can't give it a fair review but I suspect it's a 10 for 10.

Overall, I'd give the unit a solid 8 out of 10. It's not perfect. The backlight issue is a tough one to ignore. My installation may be the culprit, but it's also my review. Your opinion will vary. I'd buy another.

Let me say that I am familiar with tech stuff. I owned one of the first PDA's ever by Apple (Newton). Been online since before the W.W.W. (AOL 1.5, $2.95/mn) I also, own a AnywhereMap IPAQ (outdated but loved it, probably could put it back into use. WAY ahead of it's time), Lowrance 600C, and just about every other doodad you would want (no IPAD yet, but thinking about it). Anyway, all this is my opinion and gave this as review by request of another VAF member, but the opinions expressed are not endorsed by VAF, Garmin, or any paid or unpaid advertiser.

apkp777 said:

Overall, I'd give the unit a solid 8 out of 10. It's not perfect. The backlight issue is a tough one to ignore. My installation may be the culprit, but it's also my review. Your opinion will vary. I'd buy another.

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Just for reference, my Garmin 696 is bright and clear in direct sunlight, while at the same time, I can hardly see what my Lowrance 600c is displaying. The 600c dosn't begin to compare for sunlight readability. I have not tried the Aera models.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

At this point in time the 696 is the only truly sunlight readable GPS, to my knowledge. I have heard however that they will drop into a "dim mode" if they get overheated - which is apparently not hard to do with them. If you have one perhaps you could comment on this issue of overheating?

As for the 600C, they are an orphan now. Lowrance (Navico) (to be precise . . . LEI Extras) recently stopped selling the database updates, so they are truly orphaned now. I'm not sure why you can't see the screen in sunlight though - you have to turn terrain off - it serves no useful purpose anyway, but with it off the 600C with its transreflective screen is excellent in direct sun. See:

http://www.vansairforce.com/communi...highlight=anywheremap+travel+companion&page=3

Mike

apkp777 said:

I am still finding it difficult to read in direct sunlight. I'd have to give it a failing review of 5 out of 10 for direct sunlight readability . Low light and overcast it gets a 10 out of 10.

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This has been my experience as well.

For those that like the NRST function on the other Garmin or portable units, the 510 leaves a bit to be desired. You have to navigate to the main menu, then nearest menu, then you can get to the list of nearest airports, navaids, etc. Probably one or two additional steps at least. I'd give it a 8 out of 10 for that.

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If you're in the map mode, you can hold down the Menu button, and the "direct to" menu pops up. Then hit "More...", then the Left arrow. (defaults to "recent airports", but one scroll left to the "nearest airports"). So it's only three buttons to get your nearest airports, I don't know how this compares to other GPS's.

The terrain function is adequate, I don't have the audio hooked up to my intercom, but the volume is on 10 and I can hear the voice in my panel talking to me (or it could be the voice in my head, she hasn't answered my questions so it must be the Garmin). Since I have SV and SkyView, terrain is not a function that I use much.

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I keep meaning to look for a way to adjust this... I seem to recall someone saying that the proximity warnings for terrain could be adjusted. On mine, I get warnings what seems like *all* the time. I don't think I fly all *that* close to the mountains around here, but I do fly in valleys occasionally and when doing that i'm constantly acknowledging the terrain warnings.

That being said, I love having the audio wired in to my intercom (and the GPS data wired into my COM as well... That feature was worth every penny I paid for this GPS, in my opinion).

I just tried poking around into the menus trying to find the terrain settings... I couldn't find them, but I did find this... From the main menu: [Tools] -> [Down] -> [MP3]. They added the MP3 player to the Aviation side of the GPS! That must have been in an update that I applied, but they didn't advertise it. I sent an email asking about this after I got the unit, wondering why there's an MP3 player in Auto mode but not Aviation mode. They replied and said they'd consider it for future updates. I'll have to find the email and thank them.

MikeS said:

At this point in time the 696 is the only truly sunlight readable GPS, to my knowledge.

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Rumours are that the Anywheremap Quadra is as bright as the 696. I haven't tried it, haven't compared it, have never seen a 696 first-hand, for that matter. It's just a rumour.

Well that's a rumor that has no basis in fact. The Quadra is the same as the ATC or a little dimmer. There is some discussion among users about whether the Quadra is as bright as the ATC, or not. Certainly it is no brighter. If you take a look at Aviation Consumer's recent review of the Quadra, screen legibility was their biggest complaint and is glaringly evident in their lead photo. They show the unit fitting into a shirt pocket but the screen is so dim you can only tell that it's on. It can only be seen in the shade and then not all that well, especially with the Sectionals turned on. With the Sectionals on (which is their base map with the Quadra) it's literally impossible to make out any useful information with any ambient light. Only Control Vision would try and get away with such lunacy.

In the picture at the link posted above, the ATC is turned up full blast. That picture gives an excellent rendition of how legible the Quadra screen is in direct sunlight.

I've never had a chance to use the 696 either, just going on user reports.

Aera 560

Hi all. I've been flying the Aera 560 for some time now and love it! The display works well even in direct sunlight and when there is really bright sun, I just shade it with my hand. The display setting set to 10 is really bright.

I agree with an earlier post that if you lost power to the unit and are using the XM antenna for weather or audio, it sucks down battery fast. Mine is hooked up to ships power though and performs really nicely.

I particularly like the winds aloft on cross country trips to aid in altitude choices. I fly between Texas and Florida and it is amazing how much difference a couple of thousand feet make in speed and endurance!

I am about to upgrade my Trio AP to the Pro Pilot w/ altitude select/hold and VS select. Has anyone else done that already? Would love to hear some feedback. My current AP is controlled by my panel mounted Garmin GNC 250XL which works fine, just looking forward to more features offered by the Aera.

Best regards,

Bruce

Lot's of talk about IMC and EFIS and back up instruments. Must be the season. Hey, at least we not talking about high CHT's anymore.

Question: For those using the 500 series Garmins, (probably the 400's also). How realistic is it to count on the GPS derived PFD as a back up to EFIS in IMC?

I wouldn't... The horizon is based on your track... I think that means you can be fully cross-controlled, but if you're still holding a straight track the horizon will say you're wings level. NOT what i'd want from my PFD in an emergency.