Garmin's SmartCharts Revolutionizes Aviation Safety and Awareness

Garmin revolutionizes aviation charting with SmartCharts
Garmin develops the first dynamic, data-driven charts tailored to simplify terminal procedures for pilots
OLATHE, Kan./May 28, 2025/PR Newswire — Garmin (NYSE: GRMN) today announced SmartCharts,
a dynamic aviation charting solution that will provide pilots with a simplified and intuitive experience by
producing clear and relevant data to depict a chart tailored for their specific flight operation. Initially
available in the Garmin Pilot™ app, SmartCharts serves as the primary charting tool and allows pilots to
view simplified terminal procedures, including instrument approach procedures (IAP), departure
procedure (DP), standard terminal arrival (STAR) and airport diagrams.
“Terminal procedures have long been cluttered with outdated or superfluous information that may not
be relevant to a pilot’s flight, obscuring important details that could be easily missed. Garmin
SmartCharts allows all pilots to quickly and easily tailor procedures to highlight the most relevant and
key information in a simplified, optimized format to ultimately help to enhance safety and situational
awareness.”
–Phil Straub, Garmin Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Aviation
Data-driven charting solution
SmartCharts was developed from the ground up by collecting and digitizing data from global sources to
create a consistent, standardized and scalable charting solution. Garmin utilized that data to build the
clearest possible picture of information needed to successfully fly charted procedures via a new
charting user interface. This interface, coupled with the digital data, allows SmartCharts procedures to
automatically adjust and scale as the pilot zooms and pans within the chart, similar to Garmin's data-
driven maps across its entire product line. This data also allows SmartCharts to highlight details and
notes that could be easily overlooked and lost on traditional charts, reducing the potential for error. The
ability to scale the chart creates a clearer picture of the information needed to fly instrument
procedures. The digitized data also allows for adjustments to minima – such as minima height
adjustments due to NOTAMs, alternate minimums, etc. – to be automatically calculated, minimizing
mental math needed by pilots. This data is also used to create new Brief tabs, which show optimized
briefing information presented when pilots need it during procedure reviews.
Simplified information
SmartCharts is designed to help optimize pilot workflow by providing only relevant data and reducing
workload. Users can make selections – like aircraft type, arrival/departure/approach transition fix,
runway, and more – to simplify the chart down to the information that they need to see to successfully
brief and fly that procedure. Starting with standard terminal arrivals (STARs) and standard instrument
departures (SIDs), the user selects their aircraft type, the route transition they are flying, and the
runway of intended use. This reduces depicted information to only show the routing, fixes, and crossing
restrictions pertinent to their expected procedure. Quick Access buttons also reveal pertinent procedure
information like briefing information, communications frequencies, graphical missed approach icons,
and more so pilots can easily find and decipher needed information based on the phase of the
procedure they are on.
During an approach procedure, approach minima are updated and presented to the pilot via easy
selection buttons for aircraft category, approach type (e.g. ILS, LOC, LPV, LNAV, etc.) and other
adjustments like local or other altimeter settings, inoperative airport lighting, flight director or HUD use,
and more. Those selections then present only one minima number to reference, eliminating the need
for mental math with traditional charts. Waypoints, legs, crossing restrictions and other details are then
more clearly depicted on the chart as users make selections and adjustments. This ultimately removes
unnecessary information from view, leaving the user with a single route in view to help reduce workload
and the chance for errors.
After making selections on the chart, a simplified user-interface and layout allows for an intuitive
briefing process. Pressing the Brief, COMs, and Missed Approach buttons on each procedure will
quickly showcase necessary information during procedure setup and briefing, also meaning often-
forgotten notes are now in the spotlight. Additionally, reselecting new transitions or the runway-in-use
makes re-briefing these changes much faster and clearer, resulting in better situational awareness.
Altitude and speed restrictions plus other pertinent details are clearly depicted on the SmartCharts plan
view of approach, arrival and departure procedures.
In a first for the industry, the approach vertical profile view is geo-referenced1 with the aircraft appearing
on the profile at its altitude. This feature adds ultimate situational awareness of the aircraft position
relative to the approach path, terrain and obstacles.
Garmin has been a long-time industry leader in making ground operations safer and simpler via
SafeTaxi® on products from integrated flight decks to Garmin Pilot. SmartCharts takes airport diagrams
to the next level by adding additional visual information like airport lighting systems, hold short lines,
other airport markings, windsock locations, and more. Like other SmartCharts procedures, airport
diagrams also have Quick Access buttons at the top of the chart that showcase airport information like
communication frequencies, runway information, and alternate minimums data. This design removes
the need to memorize traditional airport symbols like non-standard alternate minimums and makes
alternate minima details easily accessible.
SmartCharts data enables additional Garmin Pilot features
Garmin Pilot now includes a Show with Minima procedure sorting feature on the airport tab to help
pilots more easily find SmartCharts procedures. They can sort approaches by criteria such as lowest
minimums by altitude or visibility and available approach lighting. This can aid pilots by saving time in
finding an approach that gets them the lowest legal minima, for instance. Additionally, recently released
Smart Binders will group the charts by type – approach, departure, arrival, or airport info – in the airport
tab for easier and faster searching.