EFIS / autopilot?

Are there any affordable EFIS units that will talk to my Trutrac a/p with GPSS?

"affordable?" My GRT Horizon I does GPSS with the Trutrak DF II just fine.

I think the Enigma does. Cant get much more affordable.........

I know this isn't the objective of this topic, but I want to ask something. Why don't Dynon and GRT include autopilot ins this package.

For a newbie like me, I think that the only thing necessary is some outputs for servos. Am I missing something?

It will be easier and cheapper to select the function on the EFIS and itself commands the autopilot.

The current rumor is that Dynon is working on an autopilot. Hopefully they will also interface with some of the existing servos on the market.

I like the GRT philosophy of just interfacing very well with a third party autopilot. I use the autopilot as a reliable gyro source in my redundancy plan. The GRT / TruTrak setup is a dream to fly. Even better (more flexible) than the Diamond G1000 / King AP setup that I used to fly. Believe it or not, sometimes things can get very busy or complicated in the cockpit if you install all the toys. There is nothing simpler or faster to reduce pilot workload than to engage the A/P independent from everything else and just fly the knob on the controller.

I would worry about placing too many eggs in one basket. With the EFIS/AP combo unit, if you loose one device, you would loose alot. With a separate EFIS/AP arrangement, if you loose your EFIS, your AP would still keep the plane level. Loosing your AP would also still leave you with an A/H since your EFIS would still be working.

Just my $.02
Tom
RV-7A N175TJ Flying

Yup - Redundancy!

I like having my autopilot capable of operating fully independent of the EFIS, in case one or the other gives up the ghost. Having them all in one box would be OK for a strictly VFR operation, but I want them separate (or two independent systems) for IFR.

Paul

Jamie said:

The current rumor is that Dynon is working on an autopilot. Hopefully they will also interface with some of the existing servos on the market.

Click to expand...

At the CT fly-in this year, Dynon told us that they were working on an autopilot and it would not be based on anyone else's servos. Good and bad - I'd rather see them work with other servos and not reinvent the wheel (or require new servos if you're already got a TT or Trio servo), but competition improves the breed....

TODR

Talked with Mr. Dynon (didn't get the name, but he said he owned the company) at Oshkosh & he said their autopilot was late; they had intended to release it in time for Arlington (Dynon is just down the road a piece from Arlington), but didn't make that deadline. At Oshkosh, he said it would be a few more months.

Latest word is that the software would be free with the Dynon EFIS, but the servos would run something like $600+ each.

AP with the EFIS may be OK for VFR, but as others have said, redundancy is good. If your EFIS goes gunnysack in the soup, an independent AP will still keep you wings level, but if it is part of the EFIS, you are going down, down, down.

RScott
RV-9A fuselage