Autopilot issues

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Since there have been various comments about this autopilot,here is a place to exchange information and discuss what works and what does not. To start it off, it would appear that switching ALT on or off will disconnect any lateral modelike HDG and NAV. The way to handle this is to reselect the lateral mode afterselecting the vertical mode.. not sure this is realistic, but it seems to work that way.

[Tigerclaw 6]

Thanks Bert, I didn't really want to start a new topic, a bit shy I guess. I was testing and missed 2 ILS approaches because I didn't know what was going on. Did you see any references in the manuals on how to use the autopilot? I couldn't find any.

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Kurt has offered to write a User Manual - Carenado has not provided any docs on this..

[Tigerclaw 6]

I don't even know why I'm making a fuss, I don't like autopilots anyway. I prefer to fly manually. But in cases of bad weather I'd rather the autopilot do an ILS, so it's the first thing I test. Kurt is a very nice man, but Carenado should of done a manual really. I'm gonna go read all of them now. Night.

[Geofa 108]

I'd wait for a real manual. Autopilot's from this time were pretty primitive-who knows what it does/does not? I had an stec 50 which was state of the art for the plane I got in 1993-but it did not capture glideslope (the plane was not stc'd) and would light up to tell you to trim in flight (manually) which was necessary. I was thrilled at the time-it was state of the art for then. This one is even older and probably more flukey.

[spotlope 0]

Bernt pointed out that the on switch for the autopilot is on the lower pedestal by the turn right/left and pitch up/down controls. It seems the AP can only be activated using this switch or the FSX engage autopilot key command (Z by default).

[Tigerclaw 6]

I had no problem working out how to "use" the autopilot, it's pretty intuitive really. But once you select say HDG hold, and ALT hold I expected them to stay selected until I Un-select them. Say you're flying a heading, and on HDG hold, climb to initial 2000ft hit ALT hold, and then HDG hold turns itself off. If you are not on the ball and don't notice it turned itself off, you'll fly off course very quickly. I know all you have to do is re-select HDG hold, but that is beside the point. I very much doubt the real one would do this, it's dangerous :) Working out the ILS for autopilot was easy enough after 2 tries, and I've got that in my brain now. All in all, if I need to, I can fly the autopilot no problem now. But a fix for that issue would be very nice.

[trisager 2]

I very much doubt the real one would do this

I don't know - there are some convincing arguments in this thread that it might be real-world behavior: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/347187-c337-autopilot-problem (see posts #4 and #8). Personally I'm going to assume this is correctly modeled, until someone with actual experience with the real world AP says otherwise.

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

It's official! I am the world's worse for latching on to new APs. But this one is a breeze! If I've got it right, switch it on, click HDG and will follow the heading bug setting (couldn't figure immediately, why it started heading north) The ALT button isn't actually an altitude function but an ATTITUDE function (a little light came on when I twigged that one) so it can be used to maintain an angle of climb. (and descent maybe?) When you're flying straight and level click the ALT button and your altitude will be maintained. I love it.If all that is stating the obvious, sorry but I'm pleased with myself for working it out.The more I fly this plane the less I find wrong with it.

[Yoda967 23]

I'm still working on the manual, which is unfortunately not as simple as transposing the real world IFCS supplement. The Carenado 337's IFCS doesn't work exactly like the real thing, but it's close. None of the switches on the yoke work (AP disengage, Go Around switch, Pitch Sync switch), though you can live without them. One neat thing about what Carenado's done here is the FD (referred to as the "FDE" in another thread). For takeoff, you ensure the AP ON-OFF Rocker is off and that the AP and FD annunciators are extinguished. After takeoff, clean up the aircraft, trim for proper climb, then press the FD button on the Mode Controller. The FDI will sync to the aircraft's pitch, and when you switch on the AP, it holds the pitch perfectly. As you climb, you can use the Pitch Control Wheel to adjust the rate of climb to maintain the proper climb IAS. That's exactly how the real thing works. More to follow soon!

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

I'd say, lets wait for the Users Manual to come out... Based on trial and error, I believe you can hold pitch (attitude) by switchingthe autopilot on without the ALT button, and switch to altitude hold by hittingthe ALT button at any time. If you want to climb again, use the Pitch thumb wheel. Edited: OOPS, I see Kurt beat me to it..

[Bman2006 6]

Looking forward to a semi-manual. I poked around last night on this plane - very nice. I am not sure what NAV1/NAV2 modes versus NAV mean. If you are on the VLOC CDI mode on the GPS and flying by NAV control A/P, what is NAV1/NAV2 button doing (upper right)? Is VLOC mode equivalent to the "APR" mode? How's that manual coming along Kurt? :)

[BernieGarrett 1]

I found just setting up a a flight plan in the 530 and activating it and then just selecting NAV works very well. It followed an ILS procedure perfectly. As I am establsshed on the localizer i switch from GPS to VLOC on the 530 (the real one does that automatically I believe). When using an ILS with a procedure turn i found you just have to hit enter on the 530 to advance the leg when on the ILS and the turn is complete (the current leg is shown in magenta).There is a manual to the FSD which runs through autopilot function here. Not quite the same but might help with some things! I plan to test out if the AP switches work the same today.http://www.fsd-inter...anual/index.htmCheersBernie

[N3277T Charles 0]

Hello Bert Pieke,Hi. I got the Carenado Cessna 337 and It is a very nice plane.I have been trying to install your suggested modifications to the autopilot including the Autopilot remote pitch control. I have tried following your directions several times but can not get it to show up on the panel. Plus the pop ups on the Reality XP GNS530 WASS GPS are not working right. Can not seem to sort that out either.Maybe you can help me sort it out............others have got it working with no problems.cheers,chas

[opsaint 0]

I have a very newb question for this plane if you all wouldn't mind? Is there somewhere that you can dial in an exact altitude for the plane to hold like on the radio stacks for the default fsx planes. I am not finding the AP as intuitive to use as others are.

(I fly quite a bit on FSX, but casually it seems, compared to all the real pilots and enthusiasts)