Autopilot recommendations?

[Blowfly]

Does anyone know of a single axis autopilot capable of disengaging the servo when the autopilot is not active?

I am building an RV4 and was planning to use a Digitrak single axis autopilot, however I am somewhat concerned about having residual servo drag on the ailerons and none on the elevator. I do mostly local flying, basic aeros and wish to retain the light harmonised feel of the 4. The autopilot installation is primarily for safety reasons and to reduce workload on the occasional cross country flight (hence single axis only).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or recommendations.

Darren

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by Blowfly

Does anyone know of a single axis autopilot capable of disengaging the servo when the autopilot is not active?

I am building an RV4 and was planning to use a Digitrak single axis autopilot, however I am somewhat concerned about having residual servo drag on the ailerons and none on the elevator. I do mostly local flying, basic aeros and wish to retain the light harmonised feel of the 4. The autopilot installation is primarily for safety reasons and to reduce workload on the occasional cross country flight (hence single axis only).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or recommendations.

Darren

You won't find the TruTrak servo drag noticeable in flight, but if you want a system with a servo that has a clutch that completely disengages, you need to look at the Trio EZ-Pilot:

http://www.trioavionics.com/ez_pilot.htm

The fact that the EZ-Pilot is superbly supported by the manufacturer is an added bonus.

[Blowfly]

Originally Posted by Sam Buchanan

You won't find the TruTrak servo drag noticeable in flight, but if you want a system with a servo that has a clutch that completely disengages, you need to look at the Trio EZ-Pilot:

http://www.trioavionics.com/ez_pilot.htm

The fact that the EZ-Pilot is superbly supported by the manufacturer is an added bonus.

Thankyou for the Trio EZ-Pilot suggestion Sam.

The Trio does look very good and appears to have many features including the clutch arrangement. I do like the simplisity of the Digitrak however, and its 2 1/4" format will save some space on my panel. I'm sure you are right about the residual servo drag feeling much worse when the ailerons are unloaded on the ground. I'll give it a bit more thought. Thanks again for your input.

Darren

[java]

Flew my 6 for over a year with no AP. Now 30 hours or so with Trutrak servos (2 axis in my case). With the AP off, I can't tell the difference. Never even thought about it until seeing this post. Really, not an issue. I hear the Trio is good too. Good to have choices.

[humptybump]

I've flown the same RV-8 with a TT autopilot and a clutched servo and later with a non-clutched servo. The difference was moderately apparent when parked in the hangar but not apparent in flight.

[blackbeard10]

In my 4 I have Tru Trak servos and Efis. I notice a slight drag when the AP is off and the servos have power. If I want a feel in the stick that is without the slight drag, I pull both the pitch and roll servo breakers. Without power to the servos the drag is very, very slight.

[twsurveyor]

Go with the "Trio", You'll never know it's there! I just love mine, never a problem in 730 hrs of service.

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by Blowfly

Thankyou for the Trio EZ-Pilot suggestion Sam.

The Trio does look very good and appears to have many features including the clutch arrangement. I do like the simplisity of the Digitrak however, and its 2 1/4" format will save some space on my panel. I'm sure you are right about the residual servo drag feeling much worse when the ailerons are unloaded on the ground. I'll give it a bit more thought. Thanks again for your input.

Darren

Not sure how you can get much simpler than pushing one button and the device is guiding your plane. That is all that is needed to activate the EZ-Pilot. But it also has a really complete feature set that allows you to do some cool stuff if you wish. I quickly got spoiled to the display which almost makes it unnecessary to even look at the GPS. But if you need the small format the DigiTrak will be a good option.

But I readily admit I'm biased, been flying Trio autopilots for nearly ten years, all the way from the earliest releases up to the Pro Pilot.

[TrutrakTech]

Just an FYI, but the Digitrak is no longer in production as of EXTREMELY recently. Parts supplies again. Fortunately this part is simply cosmetic (buttons of all things) so internal components are still readily available. We do have the Vizion 280 available as its replacement in the same 2 1/4" form factor. The Vizion series is currently in beta testing. We should have it ready to go within 4-6 weeks.

[Master Designs]

Sure wish there was an "AP101 Buyers Guide." I'm at the point of deciding to install an AP in my -4, and while I'll probably be going AFS or Dynon, I've looked over the Trutrak, EZ and Pro on Trio, and AP pages of AFS and Dynon and it's all a bit confusing. Just when I thought I decided what servo's to purchase, I found out that manufacture doesn't sell one of the two mounts needed for a -4. I'd like to do the 'add-on' servo's for the AFS or Dynon since the controls are integrated and eliminates another panel mount device, as well as removes some weight, but maybe I'm overlooking some advantages to having a stand-alone controller?