Select your product to confirm this information applies to you
Garmin Watch: Fly Activity Automatic Start
The Fly activity is a feature available on MARQ® Aviator smartwatch, MARQ® Aviator (Gen 2) smartwatch, tactix® 7 series smartwatch, tactix® 8 series smartwatch, and D2™ Series aviator watch watches. In addition to providing useful information in flight, one of its primary functions is to automatically log a flight’s duration. The Fly activity is configured to start and stop automatically. Automatic start uses the barometric pressure sensor that is built into the watch to detect an accelerated change in barometric pressure over time. The activity automatically stops using GPS ground speed.
The Fly activity is automatically triggered when a barometric pressure change matching the selected threshold is crossed. Once activated, it launches the ‘Fly’ application on the watch and begins tracking your flight via flight logging. The Fly activity also acts to end a flight log when the set threshold for GPS ground speed is crossed. Both the beginning (Feet Per Minute) and ending (Ground Speed) thresholds are configurable in the Fly activity settings.
Troubleshooting:
Why won’t the Fly Activity Automatically Start/Stop?
The threshold to automatically start Fly activity can be adjusted in the activity’s settings to 200, 500, or 1000 fpm as needed. It should be noted that the higher thresholds may not be as easily achieved in piston-driven aircraft.
The Fly activity will stop based on the set GPS ground speed threshold - dropping below 30kts (by default) or 10kts.
Pressurized aircraft: because the Fly activity triggers solely based on the above pressure change thresholds pulled from the barometric pressure sensor, it will not work well, if at all, in pressurized aircraft. This feature has been built with piston-driven aircraft pilots in mind. Garmin recommends disabling (see below) Auto Fly and changing the altitude source to GPS for pressurized aircraft.
Why is there no Destination Airport in the Fly Application when Auto-Fly is used?
When flight logging is automatically triggered via Auto-Fly the Fly activity will not show navigation data like ETA, ETA, distance, etc. because it has not yet been programmed with a destination.
Why does my Watch’s Battery Drain Significantly Faster when Logging a Flight?
The Fly application activates all available sensors on the watch and runs them at the most frequent intervals. This will greatly reduce the available battery life.
Why does Auto-Fly Trigger when I go Swimming?
Auto-Fly is triggered by changes in pressure detected by the watch’s barometric pressure sensor. Because water is notably denser than air, swimming, and especially submerging the watch underwater, can inadvertently trigger Auto-Fly. If this becomes an irritation, the best way to avoid it is to turn the Auto-Fly feature off (see below).
Can I Disable Automatic Starting and Stopping of the Fly Activity?
Yes, automatic starting and stopping can be disabled separately.
To disable automatic start: go to
Settings
Activities and Apps
Fly
Fly Settings
Auto Fly
- Disabled
To disable automatic stop: go to
Settings
Activities and Apps
Fly
Flight Timer
- Manual