By this time, everyone has heard about the revolution created by the development of handheld GPS systems. One of the top manufacturers of these modern wonders is Magellan Systems of San Dimas, California. Magellan is one of the top manufacturers of marine GPS units and this experience has served them well in their development of aviation units, both panel mounted and handheld.
The Skyblazer XL is the latest iteration of their popular Skyblazer series. This model has a faster processor and revised software that provides for quicker satellite lock-on, reaquisition, and tracking. Database updates work through any PC but Magellan charges only $99 for their updates where the competition charges $125. All of Magellan's products are built in the good old U.S.A.! Hurrah for Magellan!!!
Rather than going through all the features of this new model in detail, I'll cut to the chase and compare it directly with their major competitors -- the Garmin and Apollo units. The bottom line is not whether it works well, because they all do, but rather how it meets your personal requirements and how it stacks up to the competition. So here it goes.
Display... The Skyblazer XL has a screen with more pixels than any similarly priced model on the market, 20,800 to be exact. This means that the smallest characters displayed on the screen are less jagged, and the individual dots that make up the characters are much less apparent. All the units currently on the market are clear and readable, but a side by side comparison shows that the Skyblazer XL screen is slightly more readable than either the display on earlier Magellan models or the Garmin GPS-95XL. In fact, the XL is at a par with the II Morrow Precedus. The higher overall contrast of a black on gray LCD display as in the GPS-90 balances out the higher pixels of the blue, wide screen, Skyblazer XL display. The improved amber backlighting on the Skyblazer XL is the brightest of the bunch and the sheer size of the characters on the screen of the Skyblazer XL is nice for most pilots over 40.
Accessories... Everyone gives you a yoke mount and antenna, but Magellan goes one better and provides two antennas and a cigarette lighter cord. You can use the standard passive antenna that attaches to the side of the unit or a high performance active antenna that is placed on the glare shield or suction-cupped to the windshield in the airplane. Garmin charges $25 extra for the GPS-90 cigarette lighter cable. II Morrow and Garmin include the cigarette lighter cords on their more expensive Precedus and GPS-95XL models. Between the extra active antenna and the cigarette lighter power cable, Magellan is giving you at least $75 to $100 in accessories for free as compared to the GPS-90.
Database... The Skyblazer XL has more in its Jeppesen database than you will probably ever need, want or use. Like most of its competition, it has airports with elevation, fuel availability, runway diagrams, length, surface, SUAs, sectorized airspace, VORs, NDBs, and Lat/Long. Frequencies include ATIS, Clearance Delivery, Approach and Departure Ground, Tower, and Unicom. However, the XL has exclusive information that no other competitor currently has in their databases: ICAO Area Data; oxygen availability at the selected airport; all available sectorized approach/departure; FAA Enroute Centers; helicopter specific and multicom frequencies; traffic pattern altitude; and Morse code identifiers for NDBs and VORs.
Cool features... Magellan developed a one-page graphic display called a TSI or Track Situation Indicator for the Skyblazer. This feature is carried over to the Skyblazer XL. TSI combines a CDI display with descent guidance, bearing, heading, time remaining, and cross track error. The display looks a whole lot like an ILS display. The computer displays a glideslope bar based on the final target altitude you select for the destination, be it field elevation, pattern altitude or whatever you choose. It computes and displays the data based on distance remaining, current groundspeed, and your target altitude. It's great as a general aid for setting up a VFR approach to any airport.
Softlock is another feature. It prevents the unit from coming on if the power button is accidently pressed by prompting you to punch in a sequence of buttons on the unit during power up. If the sequence isn't punched in, it turns itself off and prevents the unit from needlessly depleting the batteries.
Auto-scale zooming adjusts the map to keep the present position and the destination waypoint on the screen. This means that as you approach your destination airport, the airport diagram will pop into view and increase in size as you approach the field. In all fairness, the Apollo Precedus has this feature too, but it should, since it costs almost twice as much as the Skyblazer XL.
Map panning is a feature first introduced by Garmin on their GPS-90 and is also on the Skyblazer XL. Panning allows you to move along your projected course line and check out airports, NavAids, SUAs, and more. This is a feature that's fantastic for both flight planning and while enroute.
In conclusion... The Skyblazer XL is an outstanding unit; especially in light of its extremely low price. Its large, clear display, improved processor, huge database, TSI and PAN features make it an even more formidable opponent in the unending war against the competition.
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