More WX, SmartCharts for Garmin Pilot Desktop

This is the Cloud Tops utility screenshot on a MacBook with the opacity set to 100%. This level creates a better image while sacrificing map visibility.

Garmin announced new Garmin Pilot features aimed at preflight planning on mobile and web. Beginning Oct. 27, 2026 Garmin Pilot Web users can access SmartCharts airport diagrams for the first time. The diagrams include graphical NOTAMs with color-coded overlays showing runway, taxiway, and ramp closures directly on the airport diagram. Availability is limited to supported regions.

Weather For Apple

Two weather additions are live now on Garmin Pilot for Apple mobile devices and the web. Composite radar now covers Mexico, and a second composite radar source has been added for Canada. A new Forecast Cloud layer shows forecast cloud tops, bases, and coverage on the map. The latest release doesn’t address Android compatibility. But more desktop capability is welcomed.

As I noted in our recent EFB coverage, much of my flight planning happens at home on a laptop. SmartCharts airport diagrams with graphical NOTAMs can build situational awareness for what you’ll find at departure and arrival, such as a runway closure that makes an airport unsuitable. I still prefer to review charts on my iPad closer to departure time, but I can see the web version being useful for pilots who do their chart study at home.

Plan Carefully

Forecast Cloud Base utility around Montrose and beyond.

The timing is good. With winter showing up around the country, the Forecast Cloud layer is the addition I was most interested in. Staying clear of clouds and precipitation reduces exposure to the visible moisture necessary for most structural icing encounters. Simple: If forecast tops, bases, and coverage let you plan to fly above or below the clouds, you reduce the chance of icing. It isn’t an icing forecast, though, so I’d still pair it with freezing-level and icing products, especially if you may have to penetrate a cloud layer or fly below a cloud base in precipitation. It’s also important to remember that this is a planning tool, not a guarantee of cloud avoidance.

I used the Forecast Cloud layer on Garmin Pilot Web this week to plan a trip I’m flying in a couple of days, and I found it awkward to use. The color gradient legend is difficult to interpret quickly, and the legend panel obscures part of the map. The layer provides a useful overview of forecast cloud coverage, but I found it hard to pull a specific top or base altitude from it, which limits how much I’d lean on it for detailed route planning.

Good for Garmin for continuing to develop the desktop version of Pilot. As for the mobile version, after using both apps over the long term, for some features the capable Garmin Pilot still closely trails ForeFlight, and the latest update slightly narrows the gap for those flying into Canada and Mexico.

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