Garmin SmartCharts Tops 2026 FLYING Magazine Editors' Choice Awards
For nearly a century, FLYING Magazine has evaluated the tools, aircraft, and technologies that define general aviation. The 2026 Editors' Choice Awards identify the products our editorial team, all pilots themselves, believe represent the highest standard in their respective categories. Winners were evaluated on four criteria—real-world utility, quality of execution, innovation, and relevance to GA pilots. Judging was conducted entirely by FLYING's editorial panel, which includes editors and editors in chief from across the Firecrown Media aviation portfolio. Avionics & Cockpit Technology Garmin SmartCharts — 94.2 / 100 The highest-scoring entry in the entire program, Garmin SmartCharts earned near-unanimous praise from the panel for solving a problem that has frustrated instrument pilots for decades—the disconnect between the navigation display and the chart. SmartCharts replaces static terminal procedure charts with a dynamic, data-driven charting layer integrated directly into the moving map. The result is a single view that surfaces the route, restrictions, minimums, briefing items, and airport details most relevant to the flight, including approach, SID, STAR, airport diagram, georeferenced profile, and graphical NOTAM overlays. "Garmin SmartCharts is a major cockpit-workflow improvement," said Matt Ryan, senior editor at AVweb. "Its combination of approach, SID, STAR, airport diagram, georeferenced profile, and graphical NOTAM capabilities makes it highly useful, innovative, and directly relevant to GA instrument pilots." Meg Godlewski, technical editor at FLYING Magazine, awarded the product a perfect score. "For the pilots who have gone digital, Garmin provides an excellent cockpit tool," she said. Cayla McLeod, editor in chief of Plane + Pilot magazine, was equally direct: "An absolute must." Jonathan Welsh, editor in chief of The Aviation Consumer, noted that the product's greatest strength is also its most natural limitation: "Ideal for instrument pilots but easy for VFR flyers to ignore." That tradeoff, the panel agreed, reflects a product that does exactly what it sets out to do—and does it exceptionally well. Piston & Light Sport Aircraft Cirrus SR Series G7+ — 90.3 / 100 More than 25 years into production, the Cirrus SR series has never stopped evolving. The G7+ represents the aircraft's most ambitious generation yet, integrating Safe Return Emergency Autoland, Garmin Perspective Touch+ avionics, and a suite of safety technologies that have no equivalent in piston singles at any price point. Where most manufacturers chase performance or efficiency, Cirrus has consistently innovated around accessibility, safety, and automation—and the G7+ is the clearest expression of that philosophy to date. "More than 25 years after entering the market, Cirrus SR series aircraft remain leaders among single-engine piston airplanes," Welsh said. "They are designed to be inviting and accessible to new pilots, and they are." McLeod gave the aircraft a perfect score and didn't mince words: "The Cirrus G7+ series is truly first class. I don't think flying can get any more straightforward than this." Ryan noted the aircraft's standout score in real-world utility and execution, reflecting the panel's view that the G7+ doesn’t just represent the state of the art in piston aviation—it defines it. Pilot Gear & Accessories Lightspeed Zulu 4 — 90.7 / 100 Aviation headsets occupy a unique position in the pilot's kit. They are at once deeply personal, constantly in use, and directly tied to both safety and workload. The Lightspeed Zulu 4 earned the top score in this category by delivering across every dimension the panel evaluates—noise reduction, audio quality, comfort, and cockpit integration. The Zulu 4 features Bluetooth 5.0 with simultaneous multidevice connectivity, improved active noise reduction over its predecessor, and the lightweight clamping force that has made Lightspeed headsets a fixture in cockpits from Cessna 172s to Citation jets. Godlewski's verdict was simple: "The clarity provided by the headset is second to none."” Ryan praised the headset'’s comfort across long flights: "The Lightspeed Zulu 4 is a superb, premium ANR headset. I've found it very comfortable, enjoyed very clear audio, and found it quite durable and practical." Welsh, who has spent a decade with its predecessor, offered the endorsement that may resonate most with current Lightspeed users: "If, like me, you have flown with a Zulu 3 for the past decade, the Zulu 4 is your next headset." Training & Flight Education AviatorPro — 91.6 / 100 In a category crowded with ground school options—many of which present the same material in the same format as the textbooks they replaced—AviatorPro earned the panel's top score by taking a fundamentally different approach. The platform delivers ground school content through short adaptive lessons, 3D-interactive explanations, built-in references, and a progress tracking system designed to surface where each learner needs the most work. The editors who scored it highest praised the platform's ability to make complex aeronautical concepts genuinely digestible—not just packaged in a more modern interface but restructured around how people actually learn. "AviatorPro is a strong GA training product that makes ground school more digestible, visual, and personalized," said Ryan. "Its relevance to student pilots and flight schools is excellent." Welsh identified the specific use case the platform serves best: "As one who does a lot of visualization, or chair flying, I appreciate the useful practice one gets from a proper desktop training platform." Godlewski awarded it a perfect score with a characteristically direct assessment: "Very well done." About the FLYING Editors' Choice Awards The FLYING Magazine Editors' Choice Awards are an editorial recognition program evaluating general aviation products across five categories. Winners are selected entirely by FLYING's editorial panel based on four criteria—real-world utility, quality of execution, innovation, and relevance to GA pilots. The 2026 awards are the last class of winners before FLYING turns 100 in 2027. Award trophies will be presented on stage at the FLYING Magazine AirVenture Party. A full list of winners and scores can be found here . The FLYING Magazine Editors' Choice Awards panel includes editors and editors in chief from FLYING Magazine, AVweb, The Aviation Consumer, and Plane + Pilot.