Great portable device for aviation. I've used it for 11 flights now with no problems. The included trip and waypoint manager made it easy to enter user waypoints and upload them into my unit. Selecting a new user or database waypoint is quick and easy. I use this unit as a backup to the GARMIN 430 installed in the aircraft. The 96C data matches the installed unit in flight giving me confidence in the displayed information. Contrast and readability are better than the non-color GPSMAP 96. I highly recommend the 96C to anyone that wishes to enhance their situation awareness. The "Flightbook" software is great for keeping an electronic logbook of your flights.

Battery life isn't great, but not terrible. I got 24 hrs from the first set of batteries that came with the unit, which included about 4 hours at highest brightness setting.

Once you get used to using the thumbpad for selecting and entering desired information, you will like this unit a lot.

I've used my 96c for over a year. With the direct-to function, it provides time, distance, heading in an instant. I also use the split page; HSI on top, airspace map on bottom. A great back-up. The brightness adjustment works well, no problem seeing the colored screen even in bright daylight.

The letters and numerals are tiny. So is the screen. In any chop, it can be really tough to read such small print. Also, no external antenna is provided and you definitely need one for uninterrupted coverage. Sport's charges over $90 for one but you can google them online and get them for under $20 from any number of electronics retailers. Programming the waypoints is possible but the clunky input procedures make it time consuming and tedious. Again, in chop, it's almost not doable. I just use the Direct-to function point-to-point and skip all the programming.

It's worth $500 to have reliable airspace back-up nav since I fly in the Wash DC SFRA. Also, the HSI page enables tracking and that's a great feature o have in addition to time, distance, and heading.

Can't think of any.

Hard to use...very poor manual. Screen is difficult to read. Highway mode is a joke. I feel like this is a $500.00 piece of junk.

Would never buy a garmin again.

until now this is the best small portable gps I own, good screen quality, great colors and very simple to use.

This model of GPS should come with a slot for expanding internal memory, Mexico has a larger database and better signal that the "americas" preloaded by default, is not bad but it lacks many details. definitely later models should come with a slot for expanding internal memory.

great gps

Uses standard batteries so I don't have to worry about recharging it all the time as long as I keep spare batteries in my flight bag.

Small and very easy to carry around. It works great with the yoke mount in a Cessna 152 or 172.

Great color display, easy to read even under bright southern California sunshine.

When connected to a PC, the software allows you to review your entire flight.

The reception is not consistent when mounted on the yoke. I solved the problem with an extended antena.

The included software does NOT work with Macs. What a shame! :-)

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The unit is easily manageable in the cockpit. It is easy to adjust and view the screen. It is not difficult to get started; however, when more sophisticated operations are needed or desired it is not as straight forward. I have addressed this in the "Cons section".

There is a fairly steep learning curve to get reasonably competent in its use. I did like the simulator mode; however, when in the normal mode it seemed to be different. For example, when a course was entered in the simulator mode, it did not seem to translate directly to the normal mode. I am probably still on the learning curve; however, I did have a very successful cross country using the unit even if I was still in the learning stage. My learning has been done primarily in the Simulator Mode where I have over 20 hours on the batteries, most of it in the simulator mode.

I like the unit very much. It has lived up to all of the hype. So far I have been impressed with the battery life. I have over 20 hours on the first set of AA's, and the battery charge has only decreased two of four bars on the meter. It is on track for a battery life of 40 hours, the suggested life in the Garmin literature. This fact alone has impressed some of my flying friends who have other hand held GPS's that do not fair nearly as well with battery life.

I have noticed that the cursor wheel is getting a little mushy probably from over use while practicing. This gives me some concern with regard to durability. I guess only time will tell.

Viewable in sunlight to dark.
Tremendous sensitivity.
Amazing battery life.
Lots of features.
Small and light.
Waterproof.

Confusing interface.
Road guidance sometimes gets confused.

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Just the right size to carry in flight bag, very powerful features, and quite user friendly. I flew the 737-800 and found this unit to provide flight information as good as the FMS unit on the 737. It has a basic VNAV feature which gives good vertical profile and establishes you at your altitude where you wanted to be. Very accurate.

The screen display could be a bit bigger, but for the price what more can you ask for.

You must purchase the external antenna GA27 to use the unit in the cockpit to properly receive good satellite signals. I like having the back-light "ON" all the time, under these conditions I would recommend using an external power source via a power/data cable, as the battery power depletes much faster giving you more like 8 hours. Otherwise, you could carry an extra supply of NiMH batteries. The "RAM Suction Cup Holder" is also a recommended purchase.

Great display. Good battery life. Comes with nice yoke mount and USB cable.

Road and Marine navigation maps are not very detailed. May need to download more if possible.

great product for the price.

Excellent construction. Not cheap at all. Screen is very readable. No problems with reception in a high wing plane (152) with yoke mount.

None really.

I spent many hours looking at different gps devices. I just got my private and wanted something not too expensive, but usable. The larger screen garmins were too much for my budget. I'm a weekend fair weather flyer, so didn't need anything too fancy. Just wanted something to supplement navigation. This one has worked out great. The screen is very readable, as it's only like a foot or two from me when mounted on the yoke. I've read some people have reception problems in high wing airplanes, but I've never lost the signal. I highly recommend this garmin unit.

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Great value in a GPS - love the color screen, moving map, HSI and direct to pages. It's very light weight and the yolk mount is superbly well built and functional. Airspace messages and overlays on map are very nice. Everything you would expect from a Garmin.

The batteries last maybe an hour with the backlight on. Not sure about the forecast for 40 hour battery life. Using the fresh batteries provided with the unit, we played with it for 2 hours in the house getting the hang of it, went on a 3 hour flight and used the back light for the last 30 minutes. I wish I could say for certain that we turned it off - I'm pretty sure we did; but the batteries were too weak for any of the return flight the next day. Not all of the control menus are intuitive; there is a bit of a learning curve. A little study with the manual is all that is needed though.

If the batteries lasted longer this unit would be a perfect. Carry some spares with you and enjoy the great value.

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It does everything that you could possibly want. long battery life, a few minutes on the sim and you're good to go. very easy to use. very worth the price.

Only thing I can say is the buttons are on top, but no big deal. Overall I give it a A+.

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I used it for my cross country from Allegheny County to Northeast Philadelphia, and it worked perfectly. Having a backup GPS made navigation a lot easier. Also, it provides supplemental information during an IFR approach. It was a big help during my VOR approach to Lancaster in an actual IMC (which I shot for the first time without an instructor on board!)

Another advantage of this GPS unit is it takes two AA batteries or NiMh rechargeable batteries. The life of a rechargeable battery is in general shorter than the life of the GPS unit itself. If your GPS uses a special rechargeable battery, or the rechargeable battery was not replaceable, you may have to throw away your GPS unit when the life of the battery ends. But, this GPS works with two AA batteries. I can use it to the full life of this GPS unit. Since I am using rechargeable NiMh batteries, I don't even need to buy new batteries.

The yoke mount that comes with this GPS doesn't fit if the yoke already has a chart clip. The GPS unit does not fit in the yoke mount if I attach cigarette power cable. But, the battery lasts very long, and many of the Cessnas I rent out of my flight school do not have cigarette power outlet anyway. So, I'm not much concerned about the design error of the yoke mount.

I was a bit concerned about the GPS reception. It seemed to be too much inside the cockpit if I mount it on the yoke. But, it turned out nothing to be worried about. In Cessna 172, Garmin 96c receives GPS satellites with no difficulty when it is mounted on the yoke. There is no need for attaching an extended antenna. The backlight of the LCD display is by default off. You can change the configuration so that it keeps the backlight on. But, unless you fly at night, you probably will not need backlight. The LCD display is readable without backlight. If you keep the backlight off, the battery lasts very long. I have been using it with two 2000mAh NiMh rechargeable batteries. I have used it for several flights including one long cross country, but the battery indicator showed only 20% of the battery was used.

The quality and build of this GPS is above what I'm used to and is the best of all my other Garmin gps units. The rubber armor around the unit is secured well and seems like it won't fall off. Those who own any of the eTrex line know what I mean. As a stand alone unit, the 96c is a very capable piece of equipment in the cockpit and in the car. The manual reads that it is capable of running your autopilot if you have the proper connection. I haven't used it on the water yet, so I'm still not sure of how to use it in that environment and what it's capable of. Weights & balances, density altitude and other such important calculations are a breeze with this unit; and the ability to store multiple aircraft profiles make these calculations easier by retaining normally used values (such as aircraft empty weight, arm, etc.). The automatic flight log feature is a great backup to my logbook, especially during those times when I forget to log in my time right away. The display is large enough and bright to read in any condition, but it really shines during low light or even at night. I set it at about 65% intensity for eye comfort and to retain night vision. All in all, I'm very happy with my decision to buy the 96c and it is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment in my flight bag.

As sensitive as the quad helix antenna is, sometimes it takes longer to acquire a fix than I'd like. Sometimes it takes almost one and a half to two minutes, even on a warm start. During moderate rain and cloud cover, it sometimes loses the satellite signals. It would be nice to have a SirfStar antenna/receiver on the 96c instead of the quad helix. Also, I think it should have expandable memory (micro SD) and compass/barometeric sensors like the 76csx. As a matter of fact, they appear to look alike, with the exception of the aviation feature in the 96c.

Good materials and fairly sturdy build as well as compact design and a slim profile make this an excellent addition to my flight bag. My dealings with Garmin support have all been favorable so far. For the price, the 96c should have more features like expandable memory and TAWS, like lesser priced units (i.e.- Lowrance 600c). Also, electronic compass and barometer like those in Garmin 76csx would be useful as well. Also, I would like to see Garmin put in taxiway diagrams like those found in their top of the line 496. The included yoke mount was a nice touch.

Nice long battery life. Great screen. It is nice not needing cords hanging everywhere when you need to use it. Great backup navigation.

Why put the buttons on the top? Menus take some practice and they are not very intuitive. Could use more memory for automotive maps. Bootup is pretty slow.

All things considered it is not as fancy as a 496 but it is 1/4 the cost. The form factor is perfect and the battery life is great. If portability is high on your list, this is a great low cost solution. I love being able to drop in some AA batteries and not hassling with some rechargeable solution needing recharged.

Prior to purchase, I was concerned about two factors; ease of use (would the unit be intuitive); secondly, visual acceptability of the screen. On both counts, I found the 96C remarkable. A bit of study of the handbook and practice with the simulator program, and I was at home with the unit. I modified the mount that came with the unit, so that in my RV-6A it is just to the left and above my control stick; easily seen and used in that position in varous lighting conditions. I've set up several routes and the unit automatically goes from waypoint to waypoint; a great feature. I also enjoy the feature of setting up the map page with up to four data displays on the screen (for ex.; bearing, ETE to next, speed, and so forth.) The 96C was purchased as a back-up to a panel GPS, but I now intend to use it regularly.

My 96C came with an external power cable that was defective. The problem was traced to the 'cigarette lighter' type male adaptor. Opening it for inspection, a wire leading to a capacitor had disconnected at the capacitor. This was resoldered, and the cable now works as it should.

Sporty's received my request, upon ordering, to delay shipment to arrive at my location on or after a specific date. They assured me that would occur, and specified the exact day it would arrive. The package arrived on schedule. I am a well satisfied customer.

Small, reliable, good battery life. A ton of features for the money.

None so far.

Perfect companion for peace of mind. I wouldn't fly without it.