AVMAP EKP-IV

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PRICE £1110.38

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Huge screen, bigger than anything else here. High resolution too. And the map is much better than its less expensive stablemate, the GeoPilot.

AvMap has made the most of the screen area by placing the operating buttons around two sides and the thumbstick in one corner, which is a bit odd. But it's effective and even with the data display taking up the top quarter of the screen, there's still a huge area for the map.
Feels nicely made too.

PLANNING THE FLIGHT
As with the smaller GeoPilot, it takes awhile to learn the operating system of the AvMap. The manual isn't great (again!) but there are prompts in text at the bottom of the screen to help you through the process of inputting waypoints and the flightplan.

IN THE AIR
We had a bit of trouble working out the mount and ended up using the knee strap. It's a bit big in a normal size two-seater cockpit and we'd prefer a way of mounting it to the panel. It's too big to go above the panel - it would create a huge blind spot.

Having said that, the stunning map display is so wonderful you can forgive almost anything. Bright and clear even in full sun, and the map is light years ahead of the one in the GeoPilot.

The display of data is excellent, with green text on a black background. Plenty of functions too - we discovered range circles - and then realised you can also turn the orientation round to work in horizontal format.

CONCLUSION
Excellent unit with fantastic display, competitively priced against other top end rivals.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX
» AvMap GPS unit
» Power cord
» Suction cup mount
» Knee strap
» Remote antenna
» Manual

SPEC
» Size 121x178x38mm
» Weight 544g
» Screen size 178mm
» Pixels 800x480
» Battery 6 AA, RC {opt}
» External power? Yes

SCREENS
» Moving Map
» Terrain awareness
» HSI navigation
» Checklists
» Topographical relief

AT A GLANCE
SCREEN *****
Big, bright, fairly high resolution. Worked well on the ground and in the air in full bright sunshine.

DESIGN ****
Excellent, with large control buttons and a 'thumbstick'. Nice, 'user-friendly' and tough plastics. Looks and feels well-made.

MAP ****
Good, lots of detail and decent colours.

PROGRAMMING ****
Takes a few minutes to get the hang of the thumbstick and operating system, but fairly intuitive.

EASE OF USE ***
Slightly awkward strapped to the knee because it's so big.

FEATURES *****
Lots of customisable options for the screen display. Includes terrain awareness, warnings, checklists and much more.

VALUE FOR MONEY ****
Competitive with other top end models but do you really want to spend this much?

w. www.avmap.us

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