Garmin announced its new Garmin Pilot 9.3 update incorporates several new weather enhancements that aid in identifying storm cell movement and icing levels, as well as airspace alerting. With the latest version for iOS, pilots can also view improvements made to the display of traffic, runway extended centerlines, and more.

Flight profile view adds icing

When viewing the flight profile view alongside a flight plan within Garmin Pilot, customers can easily view the probability or severity of icing and overall icing potential. Within the Flight Profile view, light green, yellow and red shading indicate an increasing probability that icing may occur at a particular altitude.

Storm cell movement

The radar overlay on the moving map has been enhanced to include the projected path of a storm cell. An orange circle paired with a line that extends from the strongest storm cells display the potential path of that storm cell and where it’s predicted to be located in 15, 30, 45 and 60-minute intervals. If hail or tornadic activity is present, a corresponding icon will also be displayed alongside the particular storm cell line. By selecting the storm cell icon on the radial menu, pilots can view additional information within the storm cell, including speed, direction and more.

Airspace alerting

Garmin Pilot 9.3 adds airspace alerting to notify pilots prior to entering select airspace segments. Pilots can select airspace alerts within the settings page and choose individual airspace types they want to receive alerts for while in-flight.

SiriusXM Surface Analysis

Pilots that utilize a GDL 69, GDL 51 or GDL 52 who also have a valid SiriusXM Aviation Weather subscription, can now view the surface analysis layer on the moving map. Isobars, pressure systems, fronts, troughs, ridges and more can be viewed alongside flight plan information to easily determine whether a frontal system may impact a particular flight.

Traffic enhancements

Pilots can now utilize pinch-to-zoom gestures on the traffic page to zoom in and out to view traffic targets on the traffic page when Garmin Pilot is paired with an ADS-B In receiver. Pilots can also select whether traffic information is displayed in relative altitude (altitude relative to own-ship) or absolute altitude (altitude relative to the ground) so it’s easier to identify traffic targets that may pose a threat.

Which Cessna Models Can Use the Garmin Pilot 9.3

The Garmin Pilot 9.3 is available for these models:

  • Cessna 150D-M
  • Cessna 152
  • Cessna 172 (1959)
  • Cessna 172E-S Skyhawk
  • Cessna 177B Cardinal
  • Cessna 177B Cardinal II
  • Cessna 177RG Cardinal
  • Cessna 182H,J,L,P,Q Skylane
  • Cessna 185F Skywagon
  • Cessna 210M Centurion
  • Cessna 303 Crusader
  • Cessna 350 Corvalis
  • Cessna 414
  • Cessna T182T Skylane
  • Cessna T240 Carvalis TTx
  • Cessna TR182 Turbo Skylane RG (S/N R1820001 through R18201628, except R18200975 & R18201315)
  • Cessna TR182 Turbo Skylane RG (S/N R18200975, R182001315, R18201629 through R18202041)