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AP fail
On past Friday my AP also failed in IMC . Prior to this I flew 4 coupled approaches after installing 5.7 during which time the AP functioned without any issues. I specifically did this in preparation for a long flight in likely IMC conditions after installing the 5.7 version. The failure happened a few minutes after departure (AP with red X through it and audible warning of disengage). At times I could re-engage during which times it worked for a few minutes at a time. Flew about 3 hours by hand with RNAV approach at end. The NAV and FD function remained available at all times. YD remained engaged at all times. It was better on the return flight on Monday with AP working most of the time.
Not sure if this is related, but the BT connection to GDL39R also failed. Nor could I get BT connection to my Ipad. Yesterday I went back to the hanger and was not able to establish connection with the GDL39, even after going through the process of "forgetting all devices" and trying to pair. It picks up the GDL but does not pair. Not a nice experience. Johan |
After MENU, MENU, TOOLS, DATABASES, MENU, at the point of accepting or not to downgrade to v5.60 the page reads,
?Update Software Replace current software with version 5.60? User data will be lost!? Have any of you lost user data in this procedure? I?d hate to have to reprogram my G3X. Thanks, Craig |
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-Dan |
No lost data.... not lost just repositioned
I had to go back into the display setup to move the engine instruments panel back to the left side of the screen, and the data bar at he top got shifted over to the other side.
Nothing lost, fixed the shifted display items in a couple of minutes. AP works great again now, glad of that. Thanks to the Garmin guys for the quick help. Steve |
Interesting
Have not read this post for a few days. We had uploaded 5.7 just after it came out and have flown a couple of CX runs in the last two weeks with Auto at the helm. We have not seen any thing a miss in those flights so far. I hesitate to change back if we don't need to before the next update comes out.
We will be watching to see if Garmin's guys find a fault in their software. This sounds iffy to us. Yours, R.E.A. III # 80888 |
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I also think this is a MAJOR issue when software leads to malfunction. It does affect choices (safety) if you KNOW up front about the problem. Just like you would not likely launch with a known faulty fuel pump (even though you have two), I would not knowingly launch into a long flight into IMC with a faulty AP. The workload of single pilot IFR is high. Therefore the discovery of this problem should be front page warnings wherever this is discussed. I appreciate what Garmin is doing and the support they offer. We have your products and you have our loyalty. Please warn us as early as possible, very visibly and on all forums when things like this happens. Johan |
I have a couple thoughts on this, and software testing in general.
First, I worked as a software engineering for almost 15 years, so I know how hard (impossible?) it is to never have bugs in software. Having said that, I'd like to make a couple observations/suggestions. If you are planning a long trip, IFR flight, etc. Don't go with the latest version of the software until it has been out for a few weeks. Garmin has done a remarkable job of having very few serious bugs in new releases (I can think of only two counting this one since the release of the G3X Touch). I'm guilty on the first one. I was so excited about the new features in 5.7 I upgraded, thinking I have a week until I need to make a serious trip, plenty of time to check it out. Fortunately I was able to down rev before the trip, but it was close. I'd like to propose something that I think could help Garmin, and us out. Have two releases of your software. A known stable release, and a new "Beta" release. For anyone that is strictly day VFR, or wants to experiment with the latest and greatest they can run it. Maybe add some logging/reporting capabilities into the software so you can collect data back. Garmin will quickly have a large base of people that will happily and willingly test your new releases, and corner cases better than you ever could internally. The second release, would be back a level (or maybe two in some cases), but be a release that has been used for multiple months with no known issues. This is a fairly common approach to software revision in industry, and while not perfect could offer advantages to both Garmin and us consumers. -Dan |
Experiencing issues as well
Test flew last night with 5.70. Had similar problems to what other's were experiencing. My GMC 307 indicator lights would randomly turn off and on. Never had the autopilot disconnect though, just false indications on the GMC 307. I did have an issue with the photocell not dimming one of the PFDs. I had to reboot the display in flight to get it to dim. I have an IFR flight coming up next week...Going to have revert back to 5.60 for now :mad:
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I did not update to 5.7 - only because the plane is in the paint shop. However, I am intrigued by Jarod_Solomon's comment about the PFD dimming locking up. I am chasing a very similar dimming issue with Garmin technical support - so far to no avail. If you have any luck on this dimming issue, I would love to know. PM me if you want details on my experience (lots of variations) - I'm not ready for general discussion until Garmin has a chance at solving it.
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While I haven't tried my (GX Pilot) AP on 5.70, I have noticed that screen refresh time is much longer than before and occasionally hangs. I haven't deleted my Track history in a while and all the dashed lines on screen which represent my tracks appear as huge fat fuzzy lines and then after a while go back to proper display.
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