HI all,

I will try to answer as best I can. I have both a 496 and a 7" WinCe device in the cockpit.

Your Qs were as below and I will insert my answers for each Q




1. "nearest [town / VRP / VOR / airfield]" at the touch of a button (with miles to each), for reporting position etc. Click on the plane and it give position report - on Ipad I think its permanently on the top line of the screen 2. "dct to" - as previous, airfield, VRP etc. - are they features on SD too? Double click SD icon and nearest airfields are shown - filtered to take account of your min runway length - with nearest first 3. What is the battery life like compared to the 496? WinCE devices generally have awful battery life (ipad is fine) - you either need secondary battery (easy) or better still cigarette lighter power 4. Is it a touchscreen and if so, how easy is it to use / pan / zoom in and out etc. Very easy - actually ipad is a bit too easy and you can inadvertently rubberband a leg 5. Is there data available for sunrise and sunset times on the unit? Not a feature I have needed to use - don't know 6. Am assuming data displayed on the "front" screen can be changed to show eta, ete, distance to next etc.? Correct 7. Does the unit have a dimmer control? Yes - but don't be fooled - WinCE units are typically not fully sunlight readable and few cheapo WinCE units have the same 400NIT brightness of the 496 and fewer still have the coating of the 496 that helps its readability in bright light 8. Are previous flight plans stored in the unit? Yes 9. Is there airfield information available for alternates? - assume a divert to somewhere, runway length, runway surface, frequencies etc.? Yes. Suggest you go into the simulation mode on your desktop. Latest plates from SD are very good 10. W&B calcs Again not something I use as W&B is never an issue in a CT (perhaps at altitude on a very hot day at MTOW - very rare unfortunately!!) But its mainly a pre-flight feature and so done via desktop version 11. Terrain warnings Yes but of course one of SD's greatest features is the vertical terrain ahead part of the screen. Other comments Reliability of WinCe devices is far better than in the past but Garmin reliability is legendary. Personally I wd not set off without 496 but in flight (apart from map of course!!) my main nav is via SD device. Remember too that SD gives you stff that 496 simply does not:

• NOTAM alerts
• WX METAR & TAFs always available
• Obstacle, airspace and other alerts
• Local ATS frequencies at touch of button
• Scratchpad
• Windpseed & Direction at your location and height

To name a few.

Go for it - you will not regret it - but hang onto your 496 for the time being.

David