Airbox offerings Aware 5 Plus vs Clarity

[Rugbyears]

Following careful deliberation and close consideration of the multitude of GPS devices, one has decide to proceed with the Airbox Clarity. Despite this, logging onto flightstore.co.uk to place an order for this unit I noticed pre-ordering for the Airbox Aware 5 Plus.

I'm aware of the original Aware unit limitations, however the Aware 5 Plus would appear to offer a great deal more, therefore one asks the question why go for the Clarity, is it simply Clarity hardware maintains supremacy over the Aware 5 Plus unit?

Feedback kindly welcomed.

[Humaround]

I have an Aware Plus and am broadly happy with it.

It is a different unit to the Clarity, though there are family resemblances. Clarity has a different GPS receiver (though I'm quite happy with the performance of the Aware). I haven't used a Clarity so can't say how much better it is than Aware.

On the whole the route planning facilities of the Plus are worth having though they are very basic compared to most aviation GPS units, and rather expensive at £100 extra (still only half the price of the Clarity) plus another £40 if you want to use the Fastplan software (which is PC only at present and again, very basic).

The new 5" Aware with planning still well below the price of Clarity (which is 4.3" like the smaller Aware). Although the screen size of the small Aware does really seem quite small in use, and the resolution is quite low (480x272 compared with 800x600 for the Clarity) they aren't yet saying what the resolution of the 5" Aware will be - it would need to be quite a bit more than the 4.3 to be worth the extra IMHO.

The Aware unit has very little in its database apart from airspace. No info about airfields apart from their location and what's on the 500 chart.

There are lots of other opinions about the Aware if you do a search.

[Rugbyears]

Informative review thank you.

[BabyBear]

FLYER Forums • View topic - NATS prepare to launch free pre-flight planning tool (http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69421)

[mikehallam]

For a basic moving colour CAA Chart map and airspace bust warnings, with free monthly airspace updates the Basic £159 AWARE is amazingly good & readable. Small enough to fit on the instrument panel and the chart size I see is the same as my paper chart. The screen definition is actually just right too, no worries there !

I flight plan the old fashioned way with a line on the map so I can visualise the whole route and mark significant features, which no gps display can do unless scaled down to a minute scale which for obstacles and so on doesn't suit me.
Airfield data is always a problem, even with three modern guides, AFE, Pooleys & Lockyears there are many missing fields. Either because the publishers don't care or don't want to know. Actually they tell me fear strip owners complaining if they get shown.

Therefore it's unlikely any assembly of such extra data onto a 'GPS' combined with all the other more essential guff will be any more comprehensive.

To my mind expecting a very inexpensive but straightforward colour unit to do too much is unreasonable. To see where you are is plenty and reading off the map too means simplified non p.c. planning at home - or on the hoof - without cluttering the GPS dispaly with any more lines.
Remember the AWARE already has a pointer showing where you're going.

Of course I am a strip and 'grass roots' flyer.

mikehallam.