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Adding an autopilot to a completed RV-7

O

oskar

I'm New Here
I'm considering buying a completed RV-7 that wasn't built with an autopilot. Wondering the feasibility and complexity of installing an autopilot and resulting cost. The airplane is equiped with a KMD-150 and a KLX-135. Thanks
 
Adding an autopilot is really pretty simple.

Go to the TruTrak website, go to "documents and manuals", select your aircraft type and you can see installation particulars.
 
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Yep

Welcome to VAF, Glenn. Quite a few of us added autopilots later. Other than crawling behind the baggage area to rivet the elevator servo bracket in place, the rest is pretty straight forward.

They come with a pre-made, color coded harness and good instructions. I just flew my -10 back from southern Virginia and was amazed at the accurate control of my Trutrak...really helps a lot.

Best,
 
Another autopilot manufacturer with lots of RV field history and superb customer service:

Trio Avionics

The RV-7 is a fairly simple install due to the multiple inspection covers in the wings. You will spend most of your time running the wiring harnesses.

You will be amazed at the capabilities of the digital autopilots. Enjoy! :)
 
I retro-fitted a TRIO Pro-Pilot to my purchased RV-6.

Very happy with the customer support during the installation, and the performance of the autopilot.
 
Look into the routing of the wiring. Are there conduits installed to take the wire harness past the main spar, out to the wing and back behind the baggage compartment? Not a deal breaker if they are not there, but would make the whole task much easier. The pitch servo will require some riveting - do you have a buddy with a rivet gun & who knows how to use it?

Pete

PS I have never been able to get my KLX-135A to output a NMEA sentence that anything else would understand...
 
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Brackets are the easy part

I added it in near the end of my build. Installing the brackets is a non-issue but routing the wires could be tricky. Check your runs before ordering wire.
 
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