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pitts_pilot(at)bellsouth.
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 Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:04 pm Post subject: autopilots |
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Sam Buchanan wrote:
snip
| Quote: |
TruTrak is also a good vendor, and the AlTrak worked fine in my plane.
My transition to Trio was a combination of my circumstances and timing.
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Would you be so kind as to elaborate?
| Quote: | Download the user manuals, do your homework, make the final decision,
and enjoy whichever systems works best for you. 
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All autopilots do the same thing. HOW they do it makes the difference
between a 'good' and 'bad' autopilot. So, without trying each and
everyone of them ..... what criteria can I glean from the user
manuals???? I'll be looking for a 3-axis ..... and so far as I can
figure it out ..... the bottom line is who likes what .... but they
seldom say WHY ..... which makes me think it's all subjective. there
must be something out there to differentiate between manufacturers.
Linn ..... totally confused about the pricey stuff!!
do not archive
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sbuc(at)hiwaay.net
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| Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject: autopilots |
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linn Walters wrote:
| Quote: |
Sam Buchanan wrote:
snip
>
> TruTrak is also a good vendor, and the AlTrak worked fine in my plane.
> My transition to Trio was a combination of my circumstances and timing.
Would you be so kind as to elaborate?
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Well....I thought the first part of my post explained my circumstances.
| Quote: |
> Download the user manuals, do your homework, make the final decision,
> and enjoy whichever systems works best for you.
All autopilots do the same thing. HOW they do it makes the difference
between a 'good' and 'bad' autopilot. So, without trying each and
everyone of them ..... what criteria can I glean from the user
manuals???? I'll be looking for a 3-axis ..... and so far as I can
figure it out ..... the bottom line is who likes what .... but they
seldom say WHY ..... which makes me think it's all subjective. there
must be something out there to differentiate between manufacturers.
Linn ..... totally confused about the pricey stuff!!
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It is my opinion you cannot make an informed choice about autopilots (or
any other complex component of your panel) without nailing down the
mission profile of your plane. To make it even more complex, these days
many of the expensive bits and pieces in the panel need to integrate
and/or talk to each other. So not only do you need to decide which
equipment will satisfy the needs of our flying, it behooves us to figure
out how to end up with a panel where all the parts can work together to
create a greater whole rather than being a collection of unsocial parts.
And I, or anyone else, can't make these decisions for somebody else
because I probably have different expectations than other builders.
We are blessed with having digital equipment from several vendors that
works like a charm. It is unlikely you will end up with a "bad"
autopilot if you do a modest amount of research. But which will work
*best* for your plane? Ya gotta do your homework, and that means
downloading manuals and spec sheets and seeing which systems best meet
your budgetary and mission profile needs.
A VFR pilot will be happy with a far simpler autopilot than the pilot
who is going to be stuffing his plane into nasty weather and wants to be
able to shoot every approach on autopilot the IFR system can possibly
throw at him.
The builder facing real budgetary constraints will have very different
needs than the builder with a bottomless pocket.
So....you gotta know what you want to do with the plane.....or do as
some builders do, throw the most complicated, expensive toys they can
find into the project. But if that builder is a VFR pilot, more than
likely they are going to be quite unhappy with the complexity of their
panel. Or even worse....the panel will result in an unsafe combination
of aircraft and pilot (reference the tragic loss of an RV-10 earlier
this year).
Linn, don't know if I've cleared or muddied the water, but now you know
why I said what I did.
Sam Buchanan
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