REVIEW: Garmin GPSMAP 60CS

[HighFlyer]

I've started flying with my GPS. At first I just took it up to answer the questions "how fast am I flying?" and "how high am I?". This tool has turned out to be way more useful than telling me how high and how fast.

I've flown pretty far away from the LZ many times and ended up feeling fairly lost. I may have been able to find my way back without using it, but having the GPS sure made it nice. Also, I've seen a fellow pilot go down 7 miles away from the LZ field, and I used my GPS to mark his position because I would have never been able to drive to him without it. Those are a couple of examples of times I was really glad I had it with me. So anyway, here is some more info on my particular GPS, what I think about it, and what I think about GPS for PPG:

My GPS is the GPSMAP 60CS. This model is a couple years old, and it has been replaced by the GPSMAP 60CSx. The only difference between the 60CS and the new model 60CSx is that the 60CS has 56 MB of internal memory and the new model has no built-in memory, but instead it has a MicroSD card slot (and comes equipped with a 64 MB card).

The GPSMAP 60CS has a large color screen, altimeter, and electronic compass. Don't all GPS units have a compass?? Well, yes and no. All GPS units will tell you your heading when you are MOVING. But unless they have the electronic compass, they can't tell you which direction you are facing when you are standing still. The e-compass isn't really useful for PPG applications, but I think the altimeter and e-compass always come together in the Garmin handheld GPS line (either you get both or you get neither). The e-compass comes in handy if you use your GPS for geocaching.

The GPSMAP 60CS comes with built-in highway maps of the US (and all of North America if I remember right). These maps only have major highways and some larger roads. Don't expect to see county roads and neighborhood streets. I didn't find the unit to be very useful for finding addresses until I bought the extra, more detailed maps. These maps cost in the $100-150 range... so keep this in mind if you want to use it for in-car navigation as well as for PPG use. Even without the extra maps, it will still take you back to where you started from, and it will will be good for straight-line navigation... which is what you can do when you aren't stuck on roads (i.e., in a PPG)!

There are many accessories available for the GPSMAP 60CS. There are car kits which have mounting brackets for in your car. There is also a handlebar mount for mounting the GPS to your mountain bike or motorcycle. I also use my handlebar mount to mount my GPS to my PPG! I used some PVC pipe to build an extension arm off of my J-bars, and my GPS mounts securely to it with the handlebar mount.

Here are a few things that are great for PPG that the GPSMAP 60CS can tell you (and some of these you won't see in screenshots and regular advertising info):
Altitude
Speed
Vertical speed (climb/descent in FPM)
Glide Ratio
Distance traveled
Time you've been moving (a good way to keep your log book if you forget to look at your watch)
Distance from your destination
How long it will take to get to your destination at your average speed (will help you figure out if you can make it with how much gas you have)

Another thing you can do is set proximity waypoints. So if there's an area where you shouldn't fly (restricted airspace or just the land owner who hates the PPG pilots), you can set it to tell you when you get to a certain distance from that point. I'm going to put the local military airbase in mine so I won't ever accidentaly get into their airspace and get shot down!

Most of the screens are fully customizable. You can set it up so that it has whatever data you want to see on whichever screen you want, so that way you don't have to constantly flip between the "trip computer" screen, the "map" screen, the "altitude" screen, and the "compass" screen, etc. You can set it up just the way you like it.

I can’t say enough good things about the 60CS. I’m very happy with mine… I’ve had it for 2 years and there’s no other one I’d rather have (except the new “60CSx”).

There are many other units that have altitude and other useful functions that cost much less than the 60CS. Garmin even makes a pretty slick wrist GPS that would be great for PPG. I think the GPS is a great tool. Yeah, they aren't nearly as necessary for us as they are for GA pilots, but they still have their place... especially if you want to do cross-country. I don't look at mine very often, but I always have it with me. I like the peace of mind of knowing exactly where I am. One day I'll land off field in the "sticks" and I'll be really glad I have it so I'll be able to call in help and guide them right to me.
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The sky is not the limit... the ground is!!!

[davemcw3]

I ordered the topo maps w/ it too. It just arrived yesterday.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on how to use it, quirks, ... ??

[HighFlyer]

Well I had mine for over a year before I realized how customizable it is.

Hit the "menu" button on any screen and you usually get an option to "setup data fields" (I think that's what it says, I don't have it in front of me right now). Anyway, that's the option you use to choose what stuff you want displayed on which screen. There are some things it can do that aren't on ANY screens when you get the unit (glide ratio, etc)... but you'll find them under the option to change the data fields. When you first get the unit, altitude will be on its own screen... so it's good to customize it and get all the flying type stuff on the same screen.

Another tip: This isn't verified for certain, but I might advise against hard-mounting the unit to your machine. I made a really cool mount that attaches the GPS on an arm connected to my J-bar. It puts the unit right in the perfect place like a dashboard. BUT - I think the vibration over time has damaged my GPS a bit. For the first several flights, it would stay turned on for the entire flight. That was cool because it gave me total miles, total time, etc. But now it just turns itself off constantly. I think the vibrations may have something to do with it. When I put it in my lap it stays on. When it's on the mount arm it acts up.

OH one other thing... if your batteries run dead, change them ASAP. If you leave the unit sitting around with no batteries in it (or dead ones), it will have a HELL OF A TIME figuring out where you are when you turn it back on. I found this out the hard way and for a few days I thought it was broken... I would turn it on and it would be trying to acquire the satellites for forever.. and for a few days it never did get a fix. I found out later that it was because I left the batteries out of it for too long. (It searches for the satellites based on where you were last... so when the juice is gone it loses that memory and it tries to find satellites that may not even be in your hemisphere). You don't have to change batteries immediately in the air or anything, but do it within a few hours.
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The sky is not the limit... the ground is!!!

[davemcw3]

Thanks for the 'heads up' on the unit. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to mount it on my bike as I ride across Iowa next week due to the vibration.

Customizing the altitude screen sounds like a great idea. I am aware of that screen but didn't realize that it screen was all that versatile. What would you suggest to do to customize it?

I like having it on the map when flying and have the elevation and speed in the data fields of the map. It would be nice to have elevation or AGL as an option for those data fields.

Thanks!

[HighFlyer]

Ever since I put altitude on the other screens, I don't mess with the altitude screen anymore (the one that has the altitude graph). Now I just get my altitude from the other screens... I think I put it on almost every screen. I mostly stay on the trip computer screen, because I have a ton of stuff on there. (Total time, miles traveled, vertical speed, ground speed, avg. speed, distance from the field, etc). I flip to the map or compass screens on occasion, but I think I put altitude on both of those screens also. :-)

I also put my GPS on my motorcycle, but I don't think my motorcycle has hurt it at all... my Honda doesn't vibrate much at all. A Harley would probably be a different story. I've never noticed it shaking to where it's hard to see when it's on my bike. When it's on the arm on my paramotor, it's really vibrating a bunch (looks kind of blurry sometimes)... so I think being on the paramotor may have hurt it. It still works on the paramotor, it just has that weird problem of unexpectedly turning itself off. It's annoying. I used to really rely on it for log book keeping, but now I have to keep a better eye on my watch or use my video camera to log my air time.
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The sky is not the limit... the ground is!!!

[Yossarian]

I offer this in good faith only for those that believe that the solution to the navigation question begins with a 'G' ... I don't mean to preach nor inform those who know better, just those who are looking for a little guidance when starting out.

'Don't want to sound like the hairy old aviator folks - but there is NO substitute for basic navigation skills. GPS should be used only to supplement solid pilot navigation techniques.

Mind you, there is nothing quite like GPS over the desert!

Tips

Keep a continual mental plot running. Nothing works quite like it, ask yourself (with respect to time and distance) 'where should I be?'

Remember that you may have large quantities of drift to deal with.

Track and groundspeed are the most useful suppliments to basic pilot nav. To be useful for pilot nav, you need to know what your track/distances should be. There is no substitute for planning. A compass can be handy too.

Create GPS waypoints for all your major navigation landmarks as well as your departure and destination points. You will be able to quickly fix your position using them.

Use charts of the right scale - a big picture of not a lot helps with PPG groundspeeds.

Keep your lookout going, the world is beyond the screen, and it is hard!

Calibrate your thumb using your chart scale - it is a handy ruler.

Know how far you will fly with your craft in say ten minutes in still air and know how that will change with changing ground speed.

These pointers work with an eyeball, a map and a chinagraph pencil in the boonies from 80 - 600kts upward so they should work equally as well below those speeds.

I could go on but I won't....

[flynfrfun]

I agree, but I'm not using GPS as a navigational aid since I can fly a whole tank of fuel out and still see where my LZ is. I think GPS is useful for PPG's mainly to find out what the winds aloft are since most of our wing's fly at one airspeed no matter what the throttle setting is (assuming you don't play around with the trimmers or speedbar).

That's why I use a very simple Garmin Foretrex 201 which gives me all I need for my "around the patch" type of flying.

But, if I were doing cross countries in unfamiliar terrain, then yes, it is best to know how to navigate the "low tech" way as GPS's are known to fail just when you need them.
Flynfrfun

[PAP125]

I have a Garmin GPSMAP 76, it sounds very similar to the 60 but does not have a color display. I think that the Black & White display might be easier to see in bright sunlight...
I don't usually use it when flying, but almost always take it with me.
It has the street maps for the whole country loaded in so if I am forced to land somewhere, I can find my way to the nearest road and/or give directions to the search/rescue party.
Battery life is good and it is rugged, I have had it attached to my off road motorbike and it has survived the water, mud and vibration no problem.
I have used it mountaineering in whiteout conditions, its nice to be able to confirm exactly where you are!
In steep sided valleys, the signals get blocked by the valley sides and trees overhead, but the Garmin 76 seems to work better in those situations than other 12 channel units that I have used.

[todorbb]

I am using the Garmin GPS 76CSX Handheld GPS with Barometric Altimeter and Electronic Compass. Which is quite comfy and consumes less energy. The display is quite good and can be brightened enough to be visible in sunny days. I like most the feature that is waterproof and float in water. I dropped it once while flying over the sea and a friend down pick it up for me! It is still running
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