High flying Sir Alan Sugar swoops on Garmin’s new GPSMAP 695

High Flying entrepreneur and Apprentice boss Sir Alan Sugar knows what’s what when it comes to technology and demands only the best from everyone he deals with. And this week not only does he kick off the new Apprentice series, he is the first in the UK to get his hands on Garmin’s newly launched GPSMAP 695, a portable aviation navigation device for his fleet of executive AMSair Legacy charter jets and his personal Cirrus SR22 light aeroplane.

The GPSMAP 695 is an all new, tablet-style device with a large, 7-inch portrait screen that makes it possible to view aviation dedicated mapping on the display. The high-resolution, sunlight readable screen uses Garmin’s latest technology to ensure that pilots will be able to read the vibrant display day or night.

“The GPSMAP 695 has given my AMSair pilots exactly what they have been looking for, a portable GPS with a large screen and electronic charting,” said Sir Alan Sugar, “It’s a great, easy-to-use piece of kit, full of features such as nearest airport identifiers, direct routing, flight planning and for me, ideal for keeping me aware of the roads in the sky electronically while flying around 2000ft high.”

The GPSMAP 695 displays a map similar to a standard enroute chart and has important features such as high and low airways, minimum enroute altitude (MEA) and leg distance. The 695’s IFR map mode also offers more situational awareness than traditional charts because it subtlety displays major visual reference points like rivers, county boundaries, motorways and rail tracks from Garmin’s built-in basemap.

Sean Biddlecombe, Garmin’s European MD said, “We are delighted we got the job of supplying Sir Alan with the very first GPSMAP 695 in Europe, in return Sir Alan and his team of pilots will be offering feedback to Garmin’s avionic engineers on any development they would like to see in the GPS unit and future aviation products.” 

The new GPSMAP 695 is the latest breakthrough from Garmin, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary of leading the technology and innovation field. Garmin is a household name globally in the automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor and fitness industries.