Now that Van?s has begun offering the new Dynon SV-AP-PANEL and SV-KNOB PANEL (autopilot control panel and dedicated knob control panel respectfully) for the RV-12 ? can anybody with hands on experience with these units answer the following question?
Question: For those who have flown with the new autopilot panel installed in the RV-12, are both the instrument panel mounted trim switch AND the trim switch on the autopilot panel functional? I?m assuming they would both be functional based on Van?s schematic drawing and Dynon?s published manuals but would like to verify that.
Because Dynon support participates here in the VAF forums, rather than contacting them directly, hoping for a reply from Dynon support to the questions below so other builders can base their decisions accordingly.
It appears to me as though the autopilot panel can act as a smart relay deck since it receives power directly from the RV-12?s trim fuse and has inputs for both pilot and copilot trim switches, plus programmable speed controls. If I?m looking at Van?s wiring and Dynon?s documentation correctly, seems to me as though the autopilot panel would make a very convenient interface for wiring pilot and copilot control stick grips with trim hat switches without any muss or fuss and still leave the panel mounted trim switch fully functional. The documentation seems to suggest the trim up and down inputs to the autopilot panel just require a ground to be active ? and the Dynon documentation says pilot input overrides copilot input ? so isolation and safety is built into the autopilot panel unit.
Seems like this could be a possible good choice for those RV-12 builders that want the autopilot panel and also desire an easy way to wire control stick grips with trim switches on them.
Question: Am I correct on the above assessment or are there other factors that I have overlooked?
Question: Does the autopilot panel also need the knobs panel to be fully functional?
Question: If the autopilot panel can be installed as a stand-alone item but loses some functionality, what is lost or degraded?
Thanks in advance for answers to the above questions or clarifications.
Question: For those who have flown with the new autopilot panel installed in the RV-12, are both the instrument panel mounted trim switch AND the trim switch on the autopilot panel functional? I?m assuming they would both be functional based on Van?s schematic drawing and Dynon?s published manuals but would like to verify that.
Because Dynon support participates here in the VAF forums, rather than contacting them directly, hoping for a reply from Dynon support to the questions below so other builders can base their decisions accordingly.
It appears to me as though the autopilot panel can act as a smart relay deck since it receives power directly from the RV-12?s trim fuse and has inputs for both pilot and copilot trim switches, plus programmable speed controls. If I?m looking at Van?s wiring and Dynon?s documentation correctly, seems to me as though the autopilot panel would make a very convenient interface for wiring pilot and copilot control stick grips with trim hat switches without any muss or fuss and still leave the panel mounted trim switch fully functional. The documentation seems to suggest the trim up and down inputs to the autopilot panel just require a ground to be active ? and the Dynon documentation says pilot input overrides copilot input ? so isolation and safety is built into the autopilot panel unit.
Seems like this could be a possible good choice for those RV-12 builders that want the autopilot panel and also desire an easy way to wire control stick grips with trim switches on them.
Question: Am I correct on the above assessment or are there other factors that I have overlooked?
Question: Does the autopilot panel also need the knobs panel to be fully functional?
Question: If the autopilot panel can be installed as a stand-alone item but loses some functionality, what is lost or degraded?
Thanks in advance for answers to the above questions or clarifications.