Good kit

The D2 Charlie’s physical appearance is similar to a conventional wrist watch; it has a round bezel, glass face and a number of buttons (5 in total) on the sides. The design and styling of the watch is akin to a modern take on classic watch design, with a titanium bezel and carbon coloured case. The watch face is scratch-resistant sapphire, which is designed to give the watch the durability to withstand the inevitable knocks and scratches it will likely experience on a pilots wrist. The backlit screen is clear and readable, even in sunlight. The watch has a few accents of hi-vis green such as on the right upper quadrant of the bezel and the crown, which helps to give the watch a distinctive aviation feel.

One thing that is noticeable with the design however is the sheer size of Garmins latest creation; with a 51mm diameter bezel, the D2 much larger than your ordinary wrist watch. But for all the physical bulk of the watch, the D2 is surprisingly light. It really does feel like a ‘regular sized’ watch when on the am. With the silicon band fitted, the total weight comes in at approximately 89grams. Whist still heavier than say an Apple watch, the combination of the relatively light overall weight (thanks to the titanium casing) and large diameter bezel make the D2 feel secure and unobtrusive on the wrist.

As expected, changing to the stainless-steel band gives the watch a much heavier feel; it would really be down to user preference which they prefer. Fortunately, changing the watch bands is a very simple affair; the Gamrin QuickFit system features a small clip on the back of bezel which is slid to the side to releases each band, allowing a different option to be inserted in its place.

Being an aviation smart watch, in addition to performing aviation functions, the D2 also does all the ‘typical’ Garmin smart watch tasks such as SMS and exercise activity monitoring. The D2 interfaces with the Garmin Connect Mobile App, to allow the user to utilise the activity features of the watch to their full capability.

Much like nearly all Garmin watches, the D2 will allow a user to record a range of exercise activities such as walking, running, swimming and cycling. Through the Connect App, the user can also load up golf course data to help track your game with precision.

The aviation specific features of the watch are quite extensive. The D2 provides METAR data, a moving navigation map, altimeter, basic navigation instruments and even flight planning.

Setup

The setup through the Garmin Connect App was quite straight forward. Simply download the app and it steps you through pairing up the watch in a matter of seconds. The setup for the aviation features though are all completed on the watch itself by navigating through the watch menus using the buttons on the case.

As expected, initially menu navigation on the watch was a slow process. However once the screen layout and button flow is understood (and this doesn’t take long) moving through the various menu’s was a simple process. It isn’t something you should expect to do on the fligh-tdeck though; you’ll need a few quiet minutes getting the watch properly setup before you take it flying.

The D2 allows the user a reasonable degree of control of how and where things appear. There is no magic formula here, simply set it up to your taste and you’ll be fine.

A nice touch is the ability to set the call-sign of your aircraft on the watch face. This gives the watch a very personal touch – which pilot doesn’t want to wear some kind of label describing ‘their’ machine.

Using the Watch airborne

Putting the watch in to ‘flying’ activity mode is very simple; tap the crown button to go to the widget menu, then tap it again to go in to the ‘aviation’ functions. Once in the aviation instruments, the up and down buttons can be used to navigate between the various screens; instruments, clock, moving map, or nearest airfield. The flying activity pages seem to be where most people are going to be spending their time when using the D2 in flight; they give a quick snapshot of most of the important information you could need.

The information presented is easy enough to read if a pilot ever found themselves having to fall back to the watch, though it’s easy to see that attempting to use the D2 to get you out of trouble might be a challenge in difficult flying conditions owing to the button presses needed to move between screens.

The other feature of the watch worth discussing is the moving map and flight planning. Again, using the watch buttons, the user can enter simple plans in to the watch and then monitor progress with the moving map. The process of entering in waypoints takes time, but it is relatively straight forward to achieve. Once in the plan, the pilot gets a map with basic geographic and airfield information to navigate via. The map system itself is useful, with smart decluttering as the scale is changed. It also has the ability to be panned and zoomed, though this is achieved using button presses so can be a time consuming process if the map needs to be moved large distances.

So in the day of the smart watch, EFB apps on iPad/iPhone/Android EFB, where would the D2 be useful, especially for its navigational features?

Obviously the watch is useful as an aviators timepiece, and it certainly packs aviation appeal in an aesthetic sense. Beyond the simple watch aspects, if you are someone who flies in a space and avionics limited aircraft such as an aerobatic aeroplane, ultralight or sailplane, this watch may be useful to you.

Granted, you will still need to carry some form of legal maps, but the D2 will certainly be of use between pinpoints for a ‘warm and fuzzy’ that you are heading the right way. And in the event you loose your primary source of navigational information (or aeronautical information if you use an EFB) you will have a backup capable of providing navigational information.

If you are in the market for a new aviation timepiece which has all the conveniences of a smart watch, it is worth taking a look at the Garmin D2