Never had an autopilot before. Is Trutrak a bad idea?

[Captain Avgas]

Originally Posted by TruTrakAndrew

For what it's worth, while the TruTrak autopilot now has a new name, they are still built in northwest Arkansas by many of the same people that were building them before. I am still around to help as needed, although to be fair not on VAF as much as I would like. BendixKing / Honeywell have no plans to kill off this great product. In fact, we are working to expand integration into our xVue Touch and to continue expanding the experimental product line.

Yes, there have been some hiccups in the transition, but I have personally been working those and will continue to do so. I would say come see me and my cowboy hat at the next trade-show, but who knows when that will be.

I am sure that you will be happy with any autopilot that you choose, as they are all great, but I would love to see you stick with the TruTrak products!

tailwinds!

Andrew, I sent you a private message on VansAirforce. Looking forward to your response.

[Andreas68]

I have an early TruTrak A/P (Pictorial Pilot), with Basic Servo - B (DSB-B) that worked well for several years after I bought the RV7A - though I didn't use it much - didn't take many long flights - but for the past two - three years has begun to drift significantly. Especially right upon engaging the autopilot, it would go into an automatic turn and have to be dialed back into straight and level flight which it would then attempt but not always succeed in holding a heading. The immediate drift/turn upon engagement sort of negates the value of having an A/P for obvious reasons including emergency use such as VFR into IMC. I just removed the servo and the external shear screw is still intact. Now that the servo is out of the plane, looking for advice (including from 'TruTrak Andrew') about which way to go: take it apart and look for internal pins that may have backed out and replace the pin(s), order the replacement servo from Mid-Continental Instruments for $500 (will the replacement servo work seamlessly with the front end (panel) display/programmer?), or reinstall the present servo and reprogram it to standard settings and hope for the best?

Thanks for any advice.

[Dean Pichon]

I'd like to have a similar set-up in my -4. I built the plane, but I'm not a point in my life where I have the time to undertake the task. Can anyone estimate for me the rough cost of installing a system when starting with a flying aircraft and a box of (autopilot) parts? Which supplier has the best installation kit and support for a -4?

Thanks,

[RONSIM]

Both roll and pitch for used Digiflight? -- I bought the install kit from Trutrak -- it is not technically challenging, but, I was in my upper 70s at the time, so, physically brutal in the tailcone.

I probably spent total of 12 hours on it --- just hooked it to a Garmin 660.

Ron

[TruTrakAndrew]

Originally Posted by Captain Avgas

Andrew, I sent you a private message on VansAirforce. Looking forward to your response.

Emailed you a reply. Thanks for reaching out!

[TruTrakAndrew]

Originally Posted by Andreas68

I have an early TruTrak A/P (Pictorial Pilot), with Basic Servo - B (DSB-B) that worked well for several years after I bought the RV7A - though I didn't use it much - didn't take many long flights - but for the past two - three years has begun to drift significantly. Especially right upon engaging the autopilot, it would go into an automatic turn and have to be dialed back into straight and level flight which it would then attempt but not always succeed in holding a heading. The immediate drift/turn upon engagement sort of negates the value of having an A/P for obvious reasons including emergency use such as VFR into IMC. I just removed the servo and the external shear screw is still intact. Now that the servo is out of the plane, looking for advice (including from 'TruTrak Andrew') about which way to go: take it apart and look for internal pins that may have backed out and replace the pin(s), order the replacement servo from Mid-Continental Instruments for $500 (will the replacement servo work seamlessly with the front end (panel) display/programmer?), or reinstall the present servo and reprogram it to standard settings and hope for the best?

Thanks for any advice.

Send me an email and let's get this resolved. I'll need a little more data to make a diagnosis. andrew.barker(at)honeywell.com. How well does it fly when it's established on the course? Does it always drift the same direction? Is there lost motion when you wiggle the servo output arm?

[TruTrakAndrew]

Originally Posted by RONSIM

Both roll and pitch for used Digiflight? -- I bought the install kit from Trutrak -- it is not technically challenging, but, I was in my upper 70s at the time, so, physically brutal in the tailcone.

I probably spent total of 12 hours on it --- just hooked it to a Garmin 660.

Ron

Dean, this is pretty accurate. Times can vary pretty significantly depending on what GPS you are interfacing with. Most cases I see people plan it for a weekend project and that's pretty doable. If you want to save time, buying a completed wiring harness will save LOTS of time, and they typically sell for under $300.

[wnplt]

I have a TT coupled to advanced flight EFIS. It’s been rock solid in every respect...

[cheeselion]

Distributor reports a six week lead time on the xCruze 100. Not sure how to feel about that...

[donaziza]

Hi Tru Trak Andrew, I've got a question for you. I've got a Tru Trak Gemini. Its hooked up to a Garmin 496. If I put in point A to point B, it tracks fine when GPS Nav is selected. But you know how the 496 will show a direct to line if you hit the "direct to" button. And then, no matter which way you turn your airplane, it still shows that magenta line "direct" to whatever airport you picked? In this situation, when I put the Gemini to "GPS Nav", the airplane will turn about 40 degrees right of the 496's magenta line, and then just stay there. I mentioned this to you personally, maybe 2 years ago up at Oshkosh.

Any ideas?