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One Year Guarantee Our one-year guarantee has not changed since we introduced our first product in 1962. If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase, let us know—we will make it right. If you would like a refund or exchange, please return the product on a timely basis in the same condition in which it was received. Price Guarantee Sporty's guarantees competitive pricing on everything we sell. If you find a competitor offering an identical item at a lower advertised price, just mail or fax us the ad, and Sporty's will match that price. Same Day Shipping We're proud to offer the fastest service of anyone in the mail order business. If you phone, fax or order over the Internet today before 4:00 P.M. Eastern, weekdays it will be on its way this afternoon. Mail orders ship the same day we receive them. In an effort to ensure your package will be there when you want it, we have created an easy-to-understand delivery map for you. Please use the delivery map to estimate the number of business days to ship to your home or business by standard surface delivery. As a precaution, you may want to allow an extra day for delivery to assure that your package arrives on time. Running short of time? Ask about our One/Two Day Express Shipping Service. Some of our larger products are shipped pre-paid motor freight from Sporty's and require longer delivery times. Please allow one to two weeks for those products. Engraved and Embroidered items will ship in two days in most instances. Return Policy For over 40 years, in addition to same day shipping, Sporty's has offered same day returns and same day exchanges. Each day, we process all returns and exchanges before new orders go out. We know of no other company who does this! Sporty's Shops ATTN: Returns Dept Clermont County Airport Batavia, OH 45103 Customer Service Our Customers Write Privacy Policy

20 Most Recent Reviews view all

Reviewed On:  September 4, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros As an instrument student, I find the extra benefit of having current weather extremely beneficial here in central Florida. Cons the yoke mount that comes standard is not good for viewing when mounted to the right yoke. It only has 2 mount positions that are 90* apart. More flexibility would be nice. General Comments

Reviewed On:  August 18, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros I have used this GPS many times since I purchased it. It is by far, the best of all the portable GPS devices that I have had. I recently used it for a very long flight, (total of 12:35), using the XM radar in an area of thunder storms for a good 2 hour period. Everything I saw on the XM, (of course with a little lag time), corresponded with what ATC was showing. It is an excellent way of avoiding the weather. That, and being able to use it in the automobile mode is an excellent all around package. Thanks, Dick Cons None General Comments I would highly recommend this product.

Reviewed On:  August 18, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments

Reviewed On:  August 12, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros Size, power, weather display ability. Cons Some cables didn't fit the unit. General Comments

Reviewed On:  July 25, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons Needs an instructional DVD specifically for the Garmin 496 that highlights new features from the Garmin 396. General Comments

Reviewed On:  June 24, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments

Reviewed On:  June 11, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments

Reviewed On:  May 26, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros This is by far the most valuable piece of equipment I have purchased for my plane. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments Make sure you get the RAM suction cup mount if you are in a Skyhawk.

Reviewed On:  April 17, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments This was my second 496. The first was stolen. There should be some provision for a pin number or password or some way to track a unit after it is stolen.

Reviewed On:  April 8, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros Excellent unit with all the features I need in a unit with this screen size (charts would be nice but not realistic on this unit). XM weather really gives me the situational awareness I like when flying in the weather. I wouldn't trust it 100% and recommend you have a method to cross check what's being displayed on the screen. I have a stormscope which is ideal in my view. Beautiful color screen with a good refresh rate. Cons The downloads for this unit will darn near break the bank. Every download is at least $35 and there are a bunch of them. Check Garmin's web site for current information. My bet is you'll be like me and selectively download content for this unit. General Comments This unit is a reference standard of portable GPS'.

Reviewed On:  April 1, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros This product, for all of the wide array of feautures and functionality that this product brings (and they are MANY), it is extraordinarily easy to use and intuitive in its user interface. As I did, you can read the manual, buy the product, spend an afternoon playing with it and go flying the next day. The peace of mind that this product brings that "you are where you think you are" is invaluable. While it is expensive, as my wife pointed out, the first time you are without it and get lost, it's gonna seem REALLY cheap. Cons It is astounding to me that with all of the research and devlopment that went into this product, there is no PC interface. How much easier would it be to develop flight/nav plans on your PC and then download them to the 496 and keep a library of these. Even better, allow downloading flight/nav plans developed in the new AOPA flight planner, NOW you'd have something. General Comments

Reviewed On:  March 26, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros It is nice to have some weather information when flying smaller planes not equipped with onboard weather radar abilities. It has kept me out of some weather that could have been a problem for the smaller plane I was flying at the time. It allows me to be part of the decision making process in flight instead of having to rely soley on ATC. Cons It has a large initial cost but if you can manage it, it is worth while. General Comments

Reviewed On:  March 12, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros Exceedingly good spatial reference in the cockpit. For the pilot that wants information, this has it all, AOPA database is just awesome. XM weather is worth the price, great for getting the latest weather in the air, and great for providing a visual reference to whats happening with the weather. Faster screen updates than the 396 really make the screen easier to interpret. Cons On the pricy side. Updates from Garmin are expensive! Jeppesen (NavData) $49.95 for a single update, $295 for the year. Obstacle database $49.95 sigle update, $195 for 7. Terrain database, $150 (not really needed). Safe taxi database, again $50 for one and $200 for 7. AND.... AOPA database $50 per update (and its updated 4 times a year). General Comments Came with the yoke mount, car mount (2 types), external gps antenna, 3 power supplies (1AC, 1DC, and 1DC with speaker) and the XM antenna, with extension cable.

Reviewed On:  March 4, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros Excellent tool. I use my 496 on even short flights. I love my GPS Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments

Reviewed On:  February 26, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros Having weather in the cockpit is worth every penny spent on this product. Cons The rocker-switch method of data input is somewhat outmoded and slow, but still works. The power cord connections are very poorly designed and fail regularly. Garmin recognizes this design flaw and is EXCELLENT in replacing these, however. General Comments Possibly the best product I have bought in the last five years, if only for the in-flight weather.

Reviewed On:  January 14, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros User-friendly. Reliable backup for primary GPS. Cons Some difficulty in finding good mounting solution. Finally found a glareshield mount from another vendor. General Comments Works best on adaptor plug-in power vs. battery, which discharges rather quickly. Mounting was an issue, until I found a glareshield mount that works well. Good back up for the plane's primary GPS. XM weather is outstanding.

Reviewed On:  January 14, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments Husband loves it and was really excited to receive it as a gift!

Reviewed On:  January 2, 2009   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments Fantasic unit.

Reviewed On:  December 16, 2008   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros No Pros Listed From This Reviewer. Cons No Cons Listed From This Reviewer. General Comments Love this unit. I had a 296 before which worked great. The added weather and airport diagrams are awsome

Reviewed On:  December 8, 2008   Would You Recommend This Product:  Yes.
Overall Rating Durability Reliablity Value Usability Expectations	Pros Used it for the first time ferrying a Helicopter from Torrence, CA to Savannah, Ga. It was fantastic. I bought the XM Aviator for winds, weather and music. Worked great. Cons None. General Comments I would advise learning the software on the ground, with so many great features its a little intimidating at first, but once you learn it, you wont fly without it. I didn't think the weather would be something that I needed but winds aloft in some areas got us there a lot quicker. I would like to see AGL as one of the read outs with Helios hugging the surface all the time but definitely not a deal breaker.

20 Most Recent Reviews view all