RAIM vs WAAS: Do You Still Need to Check RAIM for IFR Flights?

Check out IFR Ground School at https://www.flight-insight.com/ifr WAAS or RAIM — which one matters for your IFR flight planning? If you’re flying with a GPS unit like a Garmin 430, 530, or GTN series, you’ve probably heard these terms… but do you really need to check RAIM anymore? In this video, we break down the difference between RAIM (Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring) and WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System), how GPS integrity is actually monitored, and what that means for your IFR flights, especially when flying RNAV approaches. 🧭 Learn how satellite geometry affects RAIM availability, what WAAS ground stations do, and when to check NOTAMs for GPS outages. Timestamps: 00:00 – WAAS vs RAIM: What’s the confusion? 00:19 – How GPS works and why integrity matters 01:52 – What RAIM actually does 04:30 – WAAS explained (in plain English) 09:15 – Do YOU need to check RAIM?