Garmin aera 510 Color Touchscreen Aviation GPS (Americas) Review
Garmin aera 510 Color Touchscreen Aviation GPS (Americas) Feature
- Easy-to-use touchscreen interface
- XM weather and audio capability
- Lithium-ion battery - lasts up to five hours, depending on usage and settings
- Flight log: At least 30 most recent flights
- Bright 4.3" diagonal, color display
Featuring crisp 4.3-inch QVGA wide-format displays with touchscreen interface, Garmin's aera series of GPS portables are the perfect fly/drive navigation solution. All four aera models come with preloaded automotive maps, a built-in terrain/obstacles aviation database, Garmin's patented Panel Page, and more. So, you can transition smoothly from runways to roadways with the aera model that best matches your needs and budget.
 The perfect fly/drive navigation solution. |
 Adds support for NEXRAD imaging and all the other great XM WX satellite weather capabilities. |
 IFR map mode shows high and low enroute airways. |
 Terrain page offers overhead and vertical profile views. |
 Preloaded with Americas navigation database. Click to enlarge coverage map. |
 Preloaded City Navigator NT mapping makes street navigation easy. |
The Garmin aera 510
Stepping up from Garmin's base model aera 500, the 510 version adds support for NEXRAD imaging and all the other great XM WX satellite weather capabilities (subscriptions required). Plus, you can use the XM Radio capability to enjoy 170+ channels of digital music, news and other programming through your headset or cabin audio system. (The GXM 40 smart antenna is included with your aera.) In addition to the XM satellite access, the aera 510 comes fully preloaded with detailed aerial mapping of terrain contours and structural features. So, you'll have a wealth of information resources at your fingertips, to help you make better flying decisions. What's more, the simplicity of a single integrated cabling solution for power, music and datalink weather antenna options makes for easy, clutter-free aera connectivity in the cockpit.
In the Air, It's a "Mini-MFD"
Your aera 510 comes ready to fly, right out of the box. Its detailed chart-style shaded mapping and extensive terrain and aviation databases (including private airports and heliports) help you visualize your flight path in relation to nearby navaids, terrain, SUAs, obstructions, and so on. To help keep pilots aware of special airspace activity, over 683 parachute drop zones are detailed in the Americas navigation database. Terrain/obstacle detail is shown in standard 30 arc-second resolution on the aera 510 display. And, as in all the aera models, GPS updating is provided at a super-fast 5 Hz rate. For added safety, a database-driven terrain advisory feature offers TAWS-like color coding and pop-up alerts when possible obstructions or ground proximity conflicts loom ahead.
Reach New Levels of Awareness
The aera 510's graphical Terrain page offers both overhead and vertical profile views of the landscape beneath your wings. And an IFR map mode lets you display and navigate on high or low enroute airways--while using your touchscreen map cursor to reference MEAs (Minimum Enroute Altitudes) and distances between intersections. For traffic awareness, an optional power/data cable (sold separately) makes it easy to interface your aera with the Garmin GTX 330 Mode S transponder in your aircraft, thus enabling you to access and display TIS traffic alerts in busy terminal airspace. What's more, you can also use the aera to load communications frequencies into your Garmin SL 40 Comm or SL 30 Nav/Comm transceiver.
Out of the Heavens, Onto the Highways
When you arrive at your destination runway, aera lets you hit the ground running--with full automotive GPS capability and preloaded City Navigator NT street mapping. Operating much like Garmin's popular n�vi line of touchscreen auto navigators, your aera 510 offers voice-guided turn-by-turn directions with text-to-speech audio technology that calls out streets by name. In addition, there's built-in Bluetooth support for wireless hands-free calling with your compatible mobile phone. And the aera's built-in "points of interest" database offers helpful guidance to millions of motels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and other local attractions. You can use the aera's XM satellite capability to watch the weather or listen to XM Radio entertainment while driving. And to speed your transition from aircraft to automotive mode, a unique "smart mount" for the aera offers instant clip-and-go car navigation.
About the Jeppesen Database
The aera includes an internal Jeppesen database that provides location and facility information for thousands of airports, VORs, NDBs, and more. Updates to the Jeppesen database are available every 28 days online, and the database includes the following information:
- Airport--identifier, facility name, city/state/country, latitude/longitude, field elevation, available fuel types, runway designations and layout, runway surface, runway length, runway width, runway lighting, communication frequencies, and published approaches.
- Weather--frequencies associated with an airport (ASOS, ATIS, and AWOS).
- VORs--identifier, facility name, city/state/country, location (latitude/longitude), frequency, service volume (high, low, terminal), and type (such as VOR-DME, TACAN, and VORTAC).
- NDBs--identifier, facility name, city/state/country, location (latitude/longitude), and frequency.
- Intersections--identifier, nearest VOR, radial and distance from nearest VOR, location (latitude/longitude), and region/country.
- ARTCC--Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
- Airspace--boundaries (Class B, Class C, Control Zones, SUAs, and MOAs), controlling agency, and vertical boundaries.
- FSS--Flight Service Stations.
Americas Terrain Database
Enhance situational awareness with the Terrain Aviation Database. This digital database contains the elevation data which represents the topography of the earth. Using this information, your Garmin aviation GPS monitors your current position in relation to surrounding terrain to provide alerts--giving you additional time to make critical decisions regarding the flight path. Since Terrain data does not include man-made objects (towers, airports, VORs etc.), updates to Terrain data do not occur on a regular basis.
The download process for Terrain updates is simple and convenient. Simply plug in your aviation device, download and go.
About City Navigator NT
With nearly 6 million points of interest and road coverage for U.S., Canada and Mexico, plus Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas, City Navigator North America NT gives you everything you need to travel North America. Powered by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality digital map data, City Navigator brings you the most detailed street maps available so you can navigate with exact, turn-by-turn directions to any address or intersection.
- Provides nearly 6 million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, parking, entertainment, fuel and shopping.
- Includes new extended coverage for Mexico.
- Includes highways, interstates, and business and residential roads in metropolitan and rural areas.
- Includes turn restrictions, roundabout guidance, speed categories.
- Gives turn-by-turn directions.
- Includes postal code support for Canada.
- Speaks street names (example: "Turn right on Main Street.").
What's in the Box
aera 510, Free Single Database Update, GXM 40 smart antenna, Yoke Mount with Power Cable, Battery Pack, Portable Friction Mount, USB Cable, AC Adapter, Vehicle Power Cable, Pilot's Guide and Owner's Manual
Consider the aera 510
Stepping up from Garmin's base model aera 500, the 510 version adds support for NEXRAD imaging and all the other great XM WX™ satellite weather capabilities¹. Plus, you can use the XM Radio capability to enjoy 170+ channels of digital music, news and other programming through your headset or cabin audio system. (The GXM 40 smart antenna is included with your aera.) In addition to the XM satellite access, the aera 510 comes fully preloaded with detailed aerial mapping of terrain contours and structural features. So, you'll have a wealth of information resources at your fingertips, to help you make better flying decisions. What's more, the simplicity of a single integrated cabling solution for power, music and datalink weather antenna options makes for easy, clutter-free aera connectivity in the cockpit.
In the Air, It's a "Mini-MFD"
Your aera 510 comes ready to fly, right out of the box. Its detailed chart-style shaded mapping and extensive terrain and aviation databases (including private airports and heliports) help you visualize your flight path in relation to nearby navaids, terrain, SUAs, obstructions, and so on. To help keep pilots aware of special airspace activity, over 683 parachute drop zones are detailed in the Americas navigation database. Terrain/obstacle detail is shown in standard 30 arc-second resolution on the aera 510 display. And, as in all the aera models, GPS updating is provided at a super-fast 5 Hz rate.
¹Subscriptions are required for optional XM weather/audio entertainment packages (sold separately)
