Autopilot

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

What kind of autopilot is installed in this airplane?

[ramprat 8]

Hi Bert,

 

I don't know what brand it is.  It's a two axis thing that I never saw "back in the day".   I took the FSX three-axis autopilot that came with the default aircraft and cobbled it in as a popup to get by for now.

[Poppet 703]

Hello Bert,  i take it this is the AP in the Navajo Carenado version not the real plane.    I would be interested to know if the AP works ok.  I'm going to make a Carenado purchase today,  haven't decided which one yet. 

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

What's missing on it...yaw damper?  It looks very similar to the AP they put in the C404.

[Jim Robinson 122]

What's missing on it...yaw damper?  It looks very similar to the AP they put in the C404.

 

It's slightly different from what I can see in that when you click HDG the airplane turns to the heading bug where on the Titan it snaps the heading bug to your current heading and holds it.

 

I finally figured out that you right click on the VC mounted pitch control rocker to make it pitch down, left clicking on the "down" side of the rocker just makes it go up.

[JesC 88]

Hi Bert,

 

I don't know what brand it is.  It's a two axis thing that I never saw "back in the day".   I took the FSX three-axis autopilot that came with the default aircraft and cobbled it in as a popup to get by for now.

Just to add a bit of information to further the autopilot discussion; I didn't initially think the Carenado autopilot seemed out of place. But since there have been many comments concerning this (here as well as other threads), I became more curious.

 

When I look at cockpit panel photos of Navajos listed for sale, many appear to be equipped with the Piper Altimatic II (similar in appearance at least to the Carenado autopilot). Some of these with yaw damper added others without. But, I have not been able to identify an altitude preselect in these aircraft. Do you recall where the altitude preselect was located in the Navajo and perhaps it's appearance and operation?

[ramprat 8]

I must confess.  I am in my seventys and it takes me a while to recall details.  I have been thinking about this issue for the past few days and I now remember Piper Avionics were not very popular among the folks that frequented the dealship that employed me.  Consequently our Avionics Shop did a lot of upgrades, usually to King.  I used to test fly the upgraded avionics packages and make sure they would do what they were supposed to do.  Consequently many of the Navajo's I flew were with upgraded avionics packages.  I do remember the Piper Altimatic III did have an altitude preselect feature.  It was pretty basic though.  It involved adjusting a thumb wheel on the face of the autopilot to tell it your current altitude.  Then, you could use a knob on the face of the autopilot to set a new altitude and it usually worked...usually.  I apologize if I have caused any problems.  My only intent was to see if we could get Carenado to upgrade the autopilot in their Navajo.

[Jim Robinson 122]

I said above that the AP in the Titan snaps the HDG bug to your current heading and holds it, this appears to be the case only in FSX for me and it may have been a change between Titan v1 and v1.1 as I haven't yet installed v1.1 in FSX. I did install v1.1 in P3D and there the aircraft turns to the heading bug like the Navajo.

[JesC 88]

I must confess.  I am in my seventys and it takes me a while to recall details.  I have been thinking about this issue for the past few days and I now remember Piper Avionics were not very popular among the folks that frequented the dealship that employed me.  Consequently our Avionics Shop did a lot of upgrades, usually to King.  I used to test fly the upgraded avionics packages and make sure they would do what they were supposed to do.  Consequently many of the Navajo's I flew were with upgraded avionics packages.  I do remember the Piper Altimatic III did have an altitude preselect feature.  It was pretty basic though.  It involved adjusting a thumb wheel on the face of the autopilot to tell it your current altitude.  Then, you could use a knob on the face of the autopilot to set a new altitude and it usually worked...usually.  I apologize if I have caused any problems.  My only intent was to see if we could get Carenado to upgrade the autopilot in their Navajo.

 

 

Wow, we are not very many "annuals" apart Bill. But, I worked for a Cessna Dealer/Distributor ferrying fresh new Cessna's of all sorts and sizes back from Wichita. And like you I almost never saw a factory installation (Cessna Navomatic in my case). I also took many new aircraft up for our avionics shop to test the "aftermarket" installations (also, usually King or Narco); building time half an hour or so at a time.

 

Thanks for all of your input. Enjoyed your comments and having my own memory tested. I think we should have a beer together and swap our best hangar stories!! Good talking to a "real" pilot.

[stans 702]

Interesting, perhaps Carenado could offer a version of the Navajo (or maybe even a Chieftain?) with an upgraded autopilot?

[ramprat 8]

Wow, we are not very many "annuals" apart Bill. But, I worked for a Cessna Dealer/Distributor ferrying fresh new Cessna's of all sorts and sizes back from Wichita. And like you I almost never saw a factory installation (Cessna Navomatic in my case). I also took many new aircraft up for our avionics shop to test the "aftermarket" installations (also, usually King or Narco); building time half an hour or so at a time.

 

Thanks for all of your input. Enjoyed your comments and having my own memory tested. I think we should have a beer together and swap our best hangar stories!! Good talking to a "real" pilot.

Pleased to meet you Jesse.  Where was the Cessna Dealership you worked for?  I worked for Capital Sky Park (Piper Dealer) and for Patterson Aircraft (Cessna Dealer).  Both were in Sacramento, California.  Both are gone now.  And, it's good to know I'm not the only one that remembers the good old days in General Aviation.  The young folks today have no idea of how alive and robust General Aviation used to be in this country. 

[JesC 88]

Pleased to meet you Jesse.  Where was the Cessna Dealership you worked for?  I worked for Capital Sky Park (Piper Dealer) and for Patterson Aircraft (Cessna Dealer).  Both were in Sacramento, California.  Both are gone now.  And, it's good to know I'm not the only one that remembers the good old days in General Aviation.  The young folks today have no idea of how alive and robust General Aviation used to be in this country. 

 

My early flying days were spent in Austin, Texas. Not only are the dealerships that I worked for gone now but so are both of the airports where I flew. All aspects of aviation were indeed bright and it seemed the growth ceiling was unlimited. A great time to be engaged in aviation and most especially general and corporate aviation.

[Guest BeaverDriver]

Hey Bill, Jesse; I too remember the "good old days" (1 1/2 nav coms, when ADF was the primary source of navigation, etc). Former bush pilot but now nearing the end of a career as an Avionics Tech. I'm hoping you are successful in getting Carenado to re-fit the Navajo with a newer autopilot. Truth is, and as you eluded to, almost all aircraft of that vintage flying today have had retrofits up the wazoo. I very, very highly doubt you'll find a Navajo with a GTN 750 installed but leaves only a 2 axis autopilot to navigate with. It just wouldn't make sense on any level. So you're on the money with the request. Unfortunately, Carenado isn't exactly famous for making significant changes like that so I'm not optimistic. Good on you for trying though and I really hope I'm proved wrong on this.

 

You both are exactly right though. Those that have grown up with GPS are sure spoiled IMO. I got into flying just as the radio ranges up here were nearing their end, but did fly a 1958 Cessna 180 down a leg to home once. Remember that with great fondness (but today as we're getting T-Storms, am thankful those days are now gone as well ).

 

Glenn

[JesC 88]

My early flying career was based on "fly what you're assigned". I think that is still how I like flyin' em. The variations make for some great experiences!!

[ramprat 8]

Hey Bill, Jesse; I too remember the "good old days" (1 1/2 nav coms, when ADF was the primary source of navigation, etc). Former bush pilot but now nearing the end of a career as an Avionics Tech. I'm hoping you are successful in getting Carenado to re-fit the Navajo with a newer autopilot. Truth is, and as you eluded to, almost all aircraft of that vintage flying today have had retrofits up the wazoo. I very, very highly doubt you'll find a Navajo with a GTN 750 installed but leaves only a 2 axis autopilot to navigate with. It just wouldn't make sense on any level. So you're on the money with the request. Unfortunately, Carenado isn't exactly famous for making significant changes like that so I'm not optimistic. Good on you for trying though and I really hope I'm proved wrong on this.

 

You both are exactly right though. Those that have grown up with GPS are sure spoiled IMO. I got into flying just as the radio ranges up here were nearing their end, but did fly a 1958 Cessna 180 down a leg to home once. Remember that with great fondness (but today as we're getting T-Storms, am thankful those days are now gone as well ).

 

Glenn

HI Glenn,

 

Thanks for your input.  Give Carenado Support a quick message regarding your experience in the avionics end and your professional opinion about the autopilot.  I have found them to be a receptive and friendly bunch via their support page.  The more they hear from us old dogs, the better chance they might accommodate our request. 

 

Me too.  There was still a four-course range at Sacramento when I started.  "A" quadrants and "N" quadrants as I recall.  Or, dot-dash and dash-dot.  Right?