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Monday, 2 March 2015, 12:00 am CST

Garmin Pilot Optimizes Charts and Maps for Helicopter Operators

Garmin is pleased to announce a new version of Garmin Pilot for iOS, which adds a suite of features tailored to helicopter operators. These features incorporate helicopter route charts throughout eight U.S. metropolitan areas, including the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the latest version of Garmin Pilot allows pilots to easily identify and document the highest obstacle along their flight plan route, which fulfills Part 135 Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) requirements set forth by the FAA. 

Helicopter Route Charts within Garmin Pilot provide detailed information applicable to the unique operations carried out by these operators. These three-color charts depict helicopter airways and routes, heliports with associated frequency and lighting capabilities, NAVAID information and obstructions. Additionally, pictorial symbols, roads and geographical features are notated on these charts for easier identification in urban areas with high concentrations of helicopter activity.

Garmin Pilot includes VFR and IFR Helicopter Route Charts for eight major metropolitan areas, including:

  • Baltimore
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Dallas-Ft.Worth
  • Detroit
  • Houston
  • Los Angeles
  • New York

Coverage for the Gulf of Mexico is also available, which includes offshore oil drilling platforms and more.

For helicopter air ambulance operators, rules recently established by the FAA requiring pilots to identify and document the highest obstacle along a planned route (§ 135.615), can now fulfill those requirements within Garmin Pilot. When entering a departure and destination airport pair, Garmin Pilot conveniently identifies the highest obstacle along the route of flight in mean sea level (MSL) and above ground level (AGL) within the Flight Plan page and notates the obstacle graphically on the moving map page.

The latest version of Garmin Pilot for iOS is available immediately as a free update, providing operators access to additional chart information tailored to helicopter operators and the opportunity to conveniently meet HEMS requirements. Additionally, support for helicopter route charts are expected to become available for the aera 795/796 in April. For new customers, Garmin Pilot is available in the Apple App Store as a free download for the first 30 days. After the 30-day trial period, customers may purchase an annual subscription of Garmin Pilot starting at $74.99. For a live demo of these new features, visit Garmin in booth #809 at HAI Heli-Expo in Orlando, Florida, March 3-5, 2015.