Ben Smith wrote:
Hello -

This weekend, I noticed that our DG is starting to fail.. The indicated
heading sways off after making a couple 90 degree turns.. Vacuum source
seems to be OK, as the AI is still working good, and the vacuum gauge reads
normal. So I'm pretty sure this is isolated to the DG.

It has the original DG. (Airitalia, I believe). The local shop quoted low
700's for a brand new Sigmatek. (No autopilot, flags, or lighting). That
does not include labor.. I think the price is right - but is the brand OK?

Sigma Tek gyros are generally pretty good. We got one earlier this year
that must have been dropped or shipped improperly, since it precessed
almost as badly as the 30 year old gyro it replaced.

SigmaTek replaced the gyro with another new unit (because I insisted on
it) and that unit has been as rock solid as I've come to expect from a
SigmaTek (precession of about 5 degrees per HOUR).

Price of the gyro depends on what type of gyro it is (regular w/wo
heading bug, autopilot, and bootstrap). For a brief rundown of the
differences, read the article on my site. Click through:

Aviation-Articles-DG Upgrade: The SigmaTek Bootstrap Gyro

-Doug

--
--------------------
Doug Vetter, CFIMEIA

http://www.dvcfi.com
--------------------