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Comment by wkat4242 | Hacker News Reader

They also provide a lot of EFIS (Electric Flight Information System, or "Glass Cockpit") for small GA aircraft. I think AeroDyne and Honeywell are also in this market but I mainly see Garmin there. Like the G1000 (higher models are available on business jets I think).

It's pretty good too, you get a lot of features that were limited to airliners in the past. Like seeing terrain contours around you. Not that I fly IFR (instrument without visibility conditions) but still. I think it's very impressive.

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They have really become the gold standard in avionics, so much so that some airframes are preferred to others due to the fact that they've chosen to integrate a Garmin flight deck instead of Honeywell/Rockwell/etc. They have a very consistent and capable design methodology that extends from single engine piston avionics all the way up through relatively large GA jets.

They've also made advances with their Autoland product, which can take control of a small aircraft and safely land at an airfield while communicating with ATC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmdPZPWZKw8

They make awesome chart plotters and sonar systems for boats. I have a smallish one on my kayak that works very well.

Marine instruments/sonars as well

The C172 with a G1000 setup was around $20/hr more at the local flight school than a C172 with a six pack. Def not needed for X-country but I always felt safer flying it through busy airspace. Garmin really does make fantastic avionics.

Wow $20 more, that's a lot.

At our place they were the same price (though the steam gauge one was a newer type). They still had to have it because some exams require it.

It was, but I spend a lot of time flying near DC, so it was nice to know exactly where airspace boundaries were. A luxury, for sure.

Oh yeah that could avoid a very costly mistake then! Good choice.

Where I flew was all VFR territory.

But the margins on that business are not exceptional. Operating income on "outdoor" segment of their business, the one that includes the epix and fenix series watches and so forth, is higher than aviation segment.

Margin isn't everything, it's a very stable business with a very wide technological and regulatory moat. Add to that fierce brand loyalty among pilots and it's a great business IMO.

Personal electronics (unless you are Apple basically) is a pretty fickle business and fortunes can change very rapidly. Aviation? Not so much, unless you chuck a Boeing.

I just always thought that given what you said — it's a good product with a giant moat — the margins would be just about infinite.

Aviation also represents recurrent revenue through subscriptions for database updates which could be on the order of $1000/yr and upwards.

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