Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Garmin’s new D2 Air X15 and D2 Mach 2 watches are now available, adding more aviation, fitness, and smartwatch features to its aviator lineup. Both offer Garmin PlaneSync compatibility for viewing aircraft information, as well as connectivity with avionics, aviation-centric morning reports, and voice commands.
The 45-mm D2 Air X15 retails for $649.99 and features a Gorilla Glass 3 AMOLED touchscreen display. It is also equipped with the multiple white light intensity and red light LED flashlight that previously was available only with the D2 Mach 1. Users can view dynamically changing colors that match current flight conditions for a selected airport’s metar.
PlaneSync connectivity allows pilots flying aircraft equipped with PlaneSync to view the aircraft dashboard on either new watch for remote access to the aircraft’s fuel, electrical, database, and location information. Both watches also display avionics flight and navigation information and crew alerting message notifications from compatible avionics.
Other features common to the D2 Air X15 and Mach 2 include the aviation morning report with the day’s weather outlook, weather at a selected airport, and a “customized health summary based on sleep and activity patterns,” according to Garmin. Users can use voice commands to ask the watch to set a timer or start an activity such as aviation-specific commands including “start fly activity,” “direct to,” and “show me the metar.”
Voice notes allow the user to tag a voice memo with the georeferenced location, “allowing pilots to provide context during a flight or even set a reminder to look at something when back on the ground.” Users can also use both watches to communicate using the Garmin Messenger app, which connects to compatible satellite communication devices, both installed in the aircraft or portable.
The D2 Mach 2 retails for $1,349.99 in the 47-mm size and $1,499.99 for the 51-mm watch. Its AMOLED display is protected by a sapphire lens, and the watch has new sensor guard and leakproof buttons. The smaller version has a titanium bezel, polymer watch case, and Oxford brown leather watch band. With the 51-mm D2 Mach 2, you get “a carbon gray Diamond-like carbon (DLC) titanium bezel with polymer watch case and comes with a vented titanium bracelet with carbon gray DLC coating.”
A key difference between the D2 Air X15 and D2 Mach 2 is the latter’s aviation maps, which include “detailed topography, terrain shading, color-coded airspace boundaries, user waypoints, intersections and VORs, and more,” according to Garmin. The user can zoom into runways for position and orientation assistance, view a live track log or breadcrumb trail, and select a customized aircraft icon.
Other D2 Mach 2 features include setting personal weather minimums, with alerting for when thresholds are crossed at the nearest and other airports. When the weather at the selected airport exceeds the minimums, the watch face turns orange.

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