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A one axis autopilot is a wing leveler. It may have features that allow it
to track a radial or GPS course or even to follow a heading bug or all three. Even then it's a one axis autopilot. A two axis autopilot does that plus holds altitude. A three axis autopilot will also control yaw. You see these on a lot of V tail Bonanza's or any plane that is not that stable in yaw. Some of these planes may have two separate autopilots. The first is a typical two axis and a second totally separate autopilot to control yaw. A buddy of mine has that setup on his Bo. "Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:tossc.53968$gr.5228519@attbi_s52... I suspect what you have is something like a Piper Autocontrol? Two axis? You mean it has altitude-hold? Hmm. I thought 3-axis was altitude-hold? Whatever, all mine does is hold the wings level, and follow the bug... Thanks for the tips! I'd be interested to hear from folks who have these things -- do they hunt all over, or can that be damped? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
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![]() "Newps" wrote in message ... A one axis autopilot is a wing leveler. It may have features that allow it to track a radial or GPS course or even to follow a heading bug or all three. Even then it's a one axis autopilot. A two axis autopilot does that plus holds altitude. A three axis autopilot will also control yaw. You see these on a lot of V tail Bonanza's or any plane that is not that stable in yaw. Some of these planes may have two separate autopilots. The first is a typical two axis and a second totally separate autopilot to control yaw. A buddy of mine has that setup on his Bo. A yaw damper is a separate autopilot? Hmmm...I can see that! |
#3
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![]() On 24-May-2004, "Jay Honeck" wrote: I suspect what you have is something like a Piper Autocontrol? Two axis? You mean it has altitude-hold? Hmm. I thought 3-axis was altitude-hold? Whatever, all mine does is hold the wings level, and follow the bug... Thanks for the tips! I'd be interested to hear from folks who have these things -- do they hunt all over, or can that be damped? -- Jay, My Arrow IV has the Autocontrol III (single axis) with nav coupling (switchable between the 2 VHF Navs). There are actually four Nav modes that can be selected. One is standard VOR. In this setting, the AP will "chase the needle," resulting in gentle hunting in heading when the VOR signal is not strong. A second nav mode also does VOR tracking, but with considerable damping of the input signal. This results in much less hunting, and thus this mode works best when the VOR signal is not very strong. There are also LOC and LOC Backcourse (reversed sensing) modes that do a very good job of intercepting and tracking the localizer during ILS approaches. In all cases, the heading bug on the DG must be set to the intended course to give the AP a datum for intercepting and tracking the nav signal. Even IFR, I rarely use the VOR tracking feature of the AP. Instead, I use heading hold and monitor the VOR needle. Actually, I primarily monitor the moving map display of our non-IFR GPS (strictly for situational awareness, of course) and adjust the heading bug to nail the exact course. I then verify that he VOR needle is in agreement. So far, it always has been. If there were ever a disagreement, I would have to rely on the VOR (after verifying with the second Nav receiver, of course). -- -Elliott Drucker |
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Dave Butler wrote:
: ...but (assuming all my assumptions above are true) I predict you won't like it. : If there's any unsteadiness at all in the VOR signal, the autopilot will : follow the swinging CDI. There's some damping built into the coupler, but : still... Even when the VOR signal is rock-steady, all (well, OK, 2) the : installations I've seen will "hunt" back and forth across the centerline of the : signal. There might be a sensitivity adjustment that will correct this. I also predict that Jay won't like it. I have an "Autoflite I" with the NAV coupler. When coupled to the NAV (NAV1, FWIW), the needle stays dead centered. But, look at the ground track on the GPS! It's moving all over! Who's flying this thing? Seriously, unless you're right on top of the VOR, or it's a Doppler VOR (DVOR), the radials move around. A lot, in fact. The only steady one that I routinely fly over is JFK. When the autopilot is coupled up to the GPS following a radial, the VOR needle moves around. The GPS guides the airplane where the radial is supposed to be! This can get a bit nerve-wracking, especially if you're flying, say, V3 in the gauntlet between ORL's "B" and Cape Canaveral's restricted areas. -- Aaron Coolidge |
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Jay,
if you are thinking about hooking up a VOR why not a GPS? The outputs can be the same depending on the head configuration. Michelle Jay Honeck wrote: My autopilot (2-axis, Piper) is hooked up to my DG, via a "heading bug." Otherwise, it's just a wing leveler. I've been told that this autopilot has the capability of being connected to my VORs. Can anyone outline what's involved with connecting the two? Thanks! -- Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P "Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike) Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity |
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if you are thinking about hooking up a VOR why not a GPS? The outputs
can be the same depending on the head configuration. How can I hook up my autopilot to my AvMap's outputs? Now THAT would be useful. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#7
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Jay,
There are so many possibilities that only a qualified avionics person can answer if your GPS can be hooked up to your particular Autopilot. I can tell you how the CRJ FMS works though ;-) Michelle Jay Honeck wrote: if you are thinking about hooking up a VOR why not a GPS? The outputs can be the same depending on the head configuration. How can I hook up my autopilot to my AvMap's outputs? Now THAT would be useful. -- Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P "Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike) Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity |
#8
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"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:Esysc.1914$eT4.92@attbi_s54...
if you are thinking about hooking up a VOR why not a GPS? The outputs can be the same depending on the head configuration. How can I hook up my autopilot to my AvMap's outputs? Now THAT would be useful. If your autopilot supports nav coupling (ie has CDI L/R input pins and some kind of a mode button to bring this into the control loop), you can get a converter that generates the standard CDI voltages from an NMEA RS-232 data stream, see the Smart Coupler on http://www.porcine.com. Looks like it could be installed in a portable manner via some panel jack, or get the "LE" model and hide it under the panel good ;-) I thought about doing this for the ARC 200A Fail-o-Matic in my Cardinal, its not much of an autopilot, but it does work fairly well in the VOR/LOC tracking mode, so the GPS input would make it slightly more useful in the typical VFR GPS direct-to flying. I understand people have done this with mixed results, however, the dampening circuits in these units were designed for twitchy VHF nav, not the ultra-steady GPS corrections. May need to use the "high-sens" mode for that, if it has one (the ARC units have a button for that, used when tracking a localizer). Martin |
#9
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Martin,
How can I hook up my autopilot to my AvMap's outputs? Now THAT would be useful. If your autopilot supports nav coupling (ie has CDI L/R input pins and some kind of a mode button to bring this into the control loop), you can get a converter that generates the standard CDI voltages from an NMEA RS-232 data stream, see the Smart Coupler on http://www.porcine.com. Looks like it could be installed in a portable manner via some panel jack, or get the "LE" model and hide it under the panel good ;-) But even it's possible technicaly, I guess nobody would let you do it, just because the AvMap is a handheld unit (even if Jay straps it on his knee ;-) Regards Kai |
#10
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"Kai Glaesner" wrote in message ...
Martin, How can I hook up my autopilot to my AvMap's outputs? Now THAT would be useful. Porcine Smart Coupler Info snip But even it's possible technicaly, I guess nobody would let you do it, just because the AvMap is a handheld unit (even if Jay straps it on his knee ;-) Yeah, this is one of those things you probably don't want to ask about, just install the box in a semi-portable way (quick-disconnect, zip-tied) and be done with it. Remove before annual. |
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