Slaving autopilot to a VOR?

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