Auto Pilot Servo's

[Guest J430]

Have any of you fitted an auto pilot to your J430/230/170 etc

 

I am interested in the torque rating of the servo mainly on the aileron as the Jabiru cables have some considerable friction to over come.

 

Was told about a fellow on the Gold Coast with a TruTrak, Jim Handford I think his name was, if anyone knows him, I would like to talk to him also.

 

J430 about to get very lazy in the cockpit soon!

 

Cheers

 

J:wave:

 

 

[Captain]

J

 

 

 

Have you seen the data on Dynon's website about their new Autopilot. It shows their servos too.

 

 

 

Look trick to me.

 

 

 

G

 

 

[Guest J430]

Hey Captain...........ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

 

I had the first D10 in a Jab, (they offered me a dealership....should have taken it in hindsight) and I might be about to have their first AP in a Jab!

 

Need to send my D10 back to the factory for an upgrade though. Will be the latest spec D10A then.

 

Just need to make sure I order the correct servo is why I am asking. When I know what works well I will happily advise others.

 

J:wave:

 

 

[Guest Nelson Smith]

We have a Trutrack Digiflight ll fitted to our Jab SP.When enquiries were made through Aircraft Spruce we received an e-mail from Trutrack wanting aircraft make, serial no, rego. no, etc so that they could match the controls to the correct servos.

 

We are very happy with the unit.The ailerons were easy to set, up but I had to get a special cable made up for the elevator.

 

HAPPY TO HELP YOU WITH ANY MORE QUESTIONS

 

NELSON

 

 

[Guest J430]

The SP may have slightly different loads on the cables however if you can tell me the rated torque output of the servo I would really appreciate that.

 

Cheers!

 

J

 

 

[jeffcb52]

Dear J430

 

I have a trutrak a/p in my J200. Started off with small servos but had to upgrade to size C on ailerons and HT (I think) gearbox servo (with electromagnetic clutch) on the elevator. The latter is $1000 more expensive, from memory, but has the advantage of no residual friction when disconnected. The normal C servo on my ailerons has noticeable residual drag, which takes even more feel out of the controls.

 

However it is a brilliant device.

 

Jeff

 

 

[Captain]

To Nelson & Jeff,

 

 

 

Would either of you be willing to post a photo or 2 that shows roughly what the final Trutrak servo layout looks like?

 

 

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[vme]

Look at second last page .. needs high torque servos in both axes:

 

www.aerocraftparts.com/images/Catalog-2006/Avionics%20-%20TruTrak%20Flight%20Systems%20pgs%20261-264.pdf

 

Regards

 

... Vince

 

 

[Guest J430]

Jeff / Vince and everyone thanks for your help.

 

I hope I can get to see the install in Ballina!

 

J:wave:

 

 

[jeffcb52]

I have sent J430 a few photos. Hopefully he can post them on the site. I don't know how to do it .

 

Regards

 

Jeff

 

 

[Admin]

Jeff

 

Read this post about inserting images:

 

How to insert images in your post - Recreational Flying

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

Have any of you fitted an auto pilot to your J430/230/170 etcI am interested in the torque rating of the servo mainly on the aileron as the Jabiru cables have some considerable friction to over come.

 

Was told about a fellow on the Gold Coast with a TruTrak, Jim Handford I think his name was, if anyone knows him, I would like to talk to him also.

 

J430 about to get very lazy in the cockpit soon!

 

Cheers

 

J:wave:

There are a couple of Jabs here that have EZI Pilot fitted, both single axis only. They are very good and I believe the price is right. OZ dealer in Adelaide.

 

Airleron controls are very free when not engaged. I did question why altitude hold was not added and the answer was that at our lower flying limits it gives a porpoising effect in thermals. I think the extra cost was around $1000 depending on exchange rate.

 

 

[jeffcb52]

AP servo photos

 

photo of servos

 

 

 

[Captain]

photo of servos

Thanks for posting the photo Jeff.

 

 

 

There is a little bit to it, eh?

 

 

 

Regards

 

 

[Guest J430]

Captain

 

Like all things....the more stuff you have the more complicated it all gets!

 

The way I will do the elevator servo will be different. Mounting over the back behind the cabin bulkhead and using a straight cable rather than a tightly bent one will mean less drag and less clutter in the foot well of the rear seats.

 

The downside is the servo's will not be available for a few months from my friends in WA of the US of A!

 

J:wave:

 

 

[Captain]

The downside is the servo's will not be available for a few months from my friends in WA of the US of A! J:wave:

J:wave:.

 

 

 

Good idea to straighten the elevator servo cable and hide the servo behind the sound curtain.

 

 

 

Have you seen anything in writing from OUR friends in WA of the US of A. re operating instructions for the way in which the Autopilot will be operated thru the buttons of the EFIS/EMS?

 

 

 

G:yuk:

 

 

[Guest J430]

Yes I have, you will use the menu system in the EFIS which will have the A/P modes and data entry in a similar format to the rest of the EFIS menus.

 

You can also have a seperate interface if you prefer, and if I was building a new panel I would definately spend the money on the AP74 interface.

 

When I build the RV-10 one day it will (assuming this A/P system works well ) get the AP74 or maybe the AP76 which has VS control also.

 

Early days but looks good!

 

Doing long flights and in CTA at times this is a great way to reduce workload and fatigue. Fatigue is surprising when it kreeps up on you. A/P's make a big difference after 3+ hours.

 

J

 

 

[jeffcb52]

I don't think a gentle bending of the cable increases the friction too much. It comes from the rubber boots at each end of the cable (removing them helps), but mainly from the internal resistance of those servos which do not have an electromagnetic clutch to disengage when a/p is not in use. The bigger the servo the greater the residual torque. Bigger servos are heavier and longer and take more room to mount-not a problem if mounted in the rear of plane.

 

One of the great benefits of a digital a/p such as a TruTrak is having its own attitude sensors. It is a whole separate attitude system independent of any other attitude instrument, and is therefore another level of redundancy.

 

If you attach an a/p to an existing efis, then one failure leaves you completely vulnerable. You might save $1-2,00, but it is a compromise.

 

Jeff

 

 

[Guest J430]

Jeff

 

I agree with your toughts on the lack of redundency with slaving off the EFIS, however they are (and I assume Captain has one as well) an extremely reliable bit of gear.

 

For VFR use its more than adequate and even IFR, if the one EFIS fails you are back to hand flying .....on your spare A/H or EFIS.

 

Agreed about the friction......not much you can do on the Jab!

 

J:wave:

 

 

[chinggisron]

Have any of you fitted an auto pilot to your J430/230/170 etcI am interested in the torque rating of the servo mainly on the aileron as the Jabiru cables have some considerable friction to over come.

 

Was told about a fellow on the Gold Coast with a TruTrak, Jim Handford I think his name was, if anyone knows him, I would like to talk to him also.

 

J430 about to get very lazy in the cockpit soon!

 

Cheers

 

J:wave:

Hello -- I fitted a Trutrak in Jab 450. Works great. I put the aileron servo behind pax side front seat and mounted on the center line beam (longeron?) and put the elevator servo in the tail cone. For the elevator servo I ran an additional push-pull cable and fabricated a mounting bracket that I added to the elevator control at the rear. I'll have to look up the servo info. Ron N450PR

 

 

[wags]

Dynon Auto-Pilots

 

The Dynon A/P's will be well worth the wait as their functions far outweigh the Tru-Trak units. Why install all the platforms at extra cost when the Dynon EFIS already contains them?

 

J430 I understood that you must have the AP74 interface to control the Pilot... it can't be controlled from the EFIS - only programmed from the EFIS. Might be wrong there but it would be worth checking before counting your cost of installation.

 

 

[jetjr]

I read that the Dynon Ap is fully functioned direct from the EFIS, external units make it easier to use, and allow you to pre arm the AP in the mode reqd before you task it.

 

Higher model AP unit gives many more functions for IFR and advanced stuff

 

JR

 

 

[vme]

Dynon v. TruTrak

 

The Dynon A/P's will be well worth the wait as their functions far outweigh the Tru-Trak units..

That's an interesting assertion. Could you please give examples compared with say a TruTrak Sorcerer.

 

Thanks

 

...Vince

 

 

[jetjr]

Trutrak Sorcerer is $9500 USD?

 

Top level Dynon system including stand alone EFIS, $6500 USD

 

See prices at the bottom of the link

 

http://dynonavionics.com/downloads/Autopilot/SNF%202008%20Flyer%20-%20web.pdf

 

Theres also a comparison table

 

JR

 

 

[wags]

No one in their right mind would consider full IFR autopilot capability in a Jab - or maybe some would? Perhaps I should have been more specific.

 

This thread started with J430 asking about Autopilot Servo's etc - assume he was thinking 2 axis only. One assumes quite a few Jabs (and other types) have Dynon EFIS equipment fitted and therefore aircraft so equipped for the expenditure of US$1500, plus another US$450 for independant A/P control (if you want that as JetJr so rightly pointed out), can fit a unit which more than compares in functionality with a similar product from Tru-Trak. At least there is a choice of product.

 

Don't want to knock anyones product, but the fact is the Tru-Trak has been around for awhile and the Dynon A/P is a new kid on the block at a somewhat reduced expense if you already have Dynon gear - might add it's unproven as yet by anyone I know, but it promises to deliver the functions I wouldn't mind having in an A/P.