Mooney_Driver wrote:
Hence imho the upgrade with a 60PSS pitch channel makes the best sense for the legacy Piper single axis APs.
Do you have any recollection of how much the 60PSS costs?
Snoopy wrote:
Keeping the A3B might be a viable intermediary step then. Initially get two G5 wired up to the A3B
If you do this you need to keep the old mechanical AI. The G5 used as AI can’t give attitude information to the A3B.
arj1 wrote:
But how does it look in reality? You just pull the controls back and forth? What is the point?
I don’t understand the question. Are you asking how you fly with a single-axis A/P?
Airborne_Again wrote:
arj1 wrote: But how does it look in reality? You just pull the controls back and forth? What is the point?I don’t understand the question. Are you asking how you fly with a single-axis A/P?
Sorry! Yes, that’s what I meant.
I did 3 hours of flying a couple of days ago with a single axis autopilot. Perhaps it’s a Piper thing but most of the time when you trim it right you hardly have to touch the controls. Sometimes in smooth air you can fly for 20 -30 minutes and it’s just fine
Single axis is just roll i.e. wings-level and fly a heading or a track.
Most of the old autopilots could do altitude hold too. 2 servos. Pitch trim is a 3rd servo.
Archer-181 wrote:
I did 3 hours of flying a couple of days ago with a single axis autopilot. Perhaps it’s a Piper thing but most of the time when you trim it right you hardly have to touch the controls. Sometimes in smooth air you can fly for 20 -30 minutes and it’s just fine
That’s the reason I asked – in the south, on sunny summer day there is quite a lot of thermals, so I’m not sure it works…
arj1 wrote:
Sorry! Yes, that’s what I meant.
You trim the aircraft to the desired airspeed/attitude. Then you apply slight pressure to the yoke in the pitch direction, as required, while letting the A/P control the yoke in the roll direction.
Snoopy wrote:
How much is it to add some pitch hold solution?
Pitch hold would be the Stec system 30 ALT. One button only, ALT hold and that is it.
A proper pitch channel would be the Stec system 60 PSS.
https://genesys-aerosystems.com/products/system-30alt60pss-autopilot
You could in theory try to source a ALtimatic IIIb upgrade but I have never heard of anyone doing it, yet I’ve seen many Pipers with Stec pitch channels. They work quite well in my experience and are reasonably priced in comparison.Apart, even the Altimatic won’t give you Glide Slope capture which the Stec 60 PSS will. If you want a pitch channel, that would be my obvious choice.
