EricJ

I looked into this a bit, perhaps not enough to be 100% definitive, but the FAA's definition of what an ATD is is fairly soft. They seem to approve them on the basis of "we know one when we see it", and there are only a few that have approval (e.g., those listed in the cited article). There is no list that I could find that says, "If it does this and this and this and has this then it qualifies." There are some short lists of pertinent characteristics, but nothing definitive that says "It is an ATD if it has these things."

It does appear that neither the valve nor the outer cable sheath are attached to anything. This suggests that when the cable is actuated the torque is applied to the line fittings into and out of the valve rather than just the valve actuator arm, which is not desirable. There may be several problems with this installation.

Careful use of a drill and screw extractor is what I usually see on the bad ones.

...or doing touch-and-goes.

Yeah, well, I got nothin' for ya...

How tall are you? I'm 6'0", much of it torso, and have plenty of room in my J. I suspect the seat is the issue.

I feel like Rod Serling is going to post here in a minute...

Heh, finally thought to check mine today and it comes on with the Avionics switch, not the Master. My avionics shop was supposedly very anal about following the STC, etc., so who knows.

I'd ask the IA what panels he wants opened up, or you may spend a lot of time screwing screws in and out that could be left alone. The belly will likely need to be opened up, but my IA only wanted a few of the wing panels opened which saved a ton of time. Leaving stuff alone that doesn't need to be touched is also a safety issue. There's still plenty to do when assisting with an annual. I was busy the whole time.

Holy crap, that's crazy.

I put a cigarette lighter outlet on each side of the rear seating area in front of the seat toward the floor. The avionics shop selected the location for a number of practical reasons and they work well. And I totally agree that spending a lot less on the generic power sockets (aka cigarette lighter) makes much more sense than committing to a particular adapter. Also, this allows changing the USB adapter not only as the standards change, but if it winds up being noisy or just craps out.

Looks like lead fouling. Keep it lean on the ground and in the air and keep idle at or above about 1k rpm on the ground.

Mine used to go off sometimes on final in approach configuration, and then would clear up during taxi. I've since done some work on the cowl and cowl flaps and it hasn't done that for a long time. The only other times it has alarmed was on the ground while taxiing with the door open. Usually during flight it wanders around between zero and 6 or so.

FWIW, there is a site that does pretty much this function, but it is a bit klunky in that it is not maintained to be 100% reliable info. Some of the data is stale, but there are also very recent reviews of listed places. Nevertheless, it's a decent resource: http://www.fly2lunch.com

Debris can jam it open, too. Just keep poking it until it stops. It usually doesn't take much to clear it up so that it'll close again.

Would be a good candidate for a tailwheel swap.

Yeah, I can't find anything that just shows where the new approaches are. Ah, had to dig into the spreadsheet. Here's what I pulled out there, which seems to have some errors in it, anyway. ADQ KODIAK KODIAK AK RNAV (GPS) RWY 26 WTK NOATAK NOATAK AK RNAV (GPS) RWY 01 SME LAKE CUMBERLAND RGNL SOMERSET KY RNAV (GPS) RWY 05 W03 WILSON INDUSTRIAL AIR CENTER WILSON NC RNAV (GPS) RWY 03 D57 GLEN ULLIN RGNL GLEN ULLIN ND RNAV (GPS) RWY 29 BAM BATTLE MOUNTAIN BATTLE MOUNTAIN NV RNAV (GPS) RWY 22 VES DARKE COUNTY VERSAILLES OH RNAV (GPS) RWY 27 77S HOBBY FIELD CRESWELL OR RNAV (GPS) RWY 16 SLE MCNARY FLD SALEM OR RNAV (GPS) RWY 13 KTN KETCHIKAN INTL KETCHIKAN AK RNAV (GPS) RWY 29 SDP SAND POINT SAND POINT AK RNAV (GPS) RWY 32 PBV ST GEORGE ST GEORGE AK RNAV (GPS) RWY 11 M70 POCAHONTAS MUNI POCAHONTAS AR RNAV (GPS) RWY 18 M70 POCAHONTAS MUNI POCAHONTAS AR RNAV (GPS) RWY 36 CGZ CASA GRANDE MUNI CASA GRANDE AZ RNAV (GPS) RWY 05 SBD SAN BERNARDINO INTL SAN BERNARDINO CA RNAV (GPS) Z RWY 06 DNL DANIEL FIELD AUGUSTA GA RNAV (GPS) RWY 05 49A GILMER COUNTY ELLIJAY GA RNAV (GPS) RWY 03 RMG RICHARD B RUSSELL REGIONAL - J H TOWERS FIELD ROME GA RNAV (GPS) RWY 01 ALO WATERLOO RGNL WATERLOO IA RNAV (GPS) RWY 06 ALO WATERLOO RGNL WATERLOO IA RNAV (GPS) RWY 24 ALO WATERLOO RGNL WATERLOO IA RNAV (GPS) RWY 36 1U7 BEAR LAKE COUNTY PARIS ID RNAV (GPS) RWY 28 ARR AURORA MUNI CHICAGO/AURORA IL RNAV (GPS) RWY 15 MDW CHICAGO MIDWAY INTL CHICAGO IL RNAV (GPS) RWY 04L MDW CHICAGO MIDWAY INTL CHICAGO IL RNAV (GPS) RWY 22R MDW CHICAGO MIDWAY INTL CHICAGO IL RNAV (GPS) Z RWY 13C HZR FALSE RIVER RGNL NEW ROADS LA RNAV (GPS) RWY 18 2B7 PITTSFIELD MUNI PITTSFIELD ME RNAV (GPS) RWY 18 2B7 PITTSFIELD MUNI PITTSFIELD ME RNAV (GPS) RWY 36 D05 GARRISON MUNI GARRISON ND RNAV (GPS) RWY 13 D05 GARRISON MUNI GARRISON ND RNAV (GPS) RWY 31 6K4 FAIRVIEW MUNI FAIRVIEW OK RNAV (GPS) RWY 17 CUB JIM HAMILTON L B OWENS COLUMBIA SC RNAV (GPS) RWY 31 IEN PINE RIDGE PINE RIDGE SD RNAV (GPS) RWY 12 DFW DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTL DALLAS-FORT WORTH TX RNAV (GPS) Y RWY 13R BGD HUTCHINSON COUNTY BORGER TX RNAV (GPS) RWY 17 BGD HUTCHINSON COUNTY BORGER TX RNAV (GPS) RWY 35 MKE GENERAL MITCHELL INTL MILWAUKEE WI RNAV (GPS) RWY 01L MKE GENERAL MITCHELL INTL MILWAUKEE WI RNAV (GPS) RWY 01R MKE GENERAL MITCHELL INTL MILWAUKEE WI RNAV (GPS) RWY 07L MKE GENERAL MITCHELL INTL MILWAUKEE WI RNAV (GPS) RWY 13 MKE GENERAL MITCHELL INTL MILWAUKEE WI RNAV (GPS) RWY 19L MKE GENERAL MITCHELL INTL MILWAUKEE WI RNAV (GPS) RWY 31

Phoenix/Goodyear, Chandler, or Mesa Gateway are the other options, although I wouldn't hold my breath on those, either. Stellar Airpark has tie-down space, last I knew, anyway, but shade might be tough. Up north Carefree Skyranch exists but I've not heard of anything available up there unless you're interested in purchasing. I think tie-down space almost anywhere shouldn't be a big deal, at least it seems like there's plenty available at DVT, but shade or a hangar will likely require a waiting list. If you find something that doesn't, feel fortunate. That said, March is pretty pleasant here and a tie-down spot wouldn't be bad. It's not like we get hail storms or such here.

Was joke, btw.

Aka a "bridge". I think this is closest to what Brice is asking for, if I understand correctly.

If you need to lose a little altitude you can pull down on it once in a while.

It's handy at annual time to do the gear swing.

The POH for the CIII sez you have to be in ALT hold and LOC tracking for twenty seconds AND below the GS in order for the GS track to happen, and it'll lock on interception of the GS from below. Most of the GPS approaches around here are descending before the FAF or when the glide path starts on a GPS approach, but there is one I know of (Winslow) that I can test that allows ALT to be engaged and intercept below the glide path. That's the one where I inadvertently disengaged ALT I think just as it was about to start tracking, so I'll go back up there on Mon and try again. This is one of the reasons I long for a good digital AP...these old things were the shizzle in the day, but now they're pretty clunky. I am glad I have it, as it does reduce workload a ton, but it would be nice to have something a bit more advanced.

My J has the Century III that it left the factory with forty years ago. I just spent a bunch of money on a panel/avionics upgrade, and I really wish the modern digital autopilots that are in the process of coming out were currently available for my airplane, but they're not yet. So, instead, I spent WAY more than anticipated overhauling the Century III to get it to "work" again (and I use the term generously). My suggestion to you would be to not do that, i.e., unless there's a modern autopilot in the airplane, it's not going to matter what's in it as they're not worth spending any money on. In other words, whether it is a Century or a Brittain or (heresy!) an older King, it won't matter because if anything happens to them they're not worth spending any money fixing them. Just wait and get a modern digital unit (of your own selection, to your own desires and tastes) when it comes time to spend some money on such upgrades, probably when installing some nice GPS and panel glass at the same time. My Century III is now fully functional, just really lazy (in need of adjustment). I just had it fly a DME arc yesterday, which it did reasonably well with a little help, and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it to (or whether it will) fly the glidepath on a GPS approach. I think it tried to yesterday, but I turned off the ALT at the wrong moment, so I'll have to go try again. That said, the money I spent overhauling it would have been much better spent on something modern, but it just isn't an option quite yet. If you're looking at an airplane that has a "vintage" autopilot, any autopilot, and it works, it's probably not going to matter which one it is, as it won't be worth repairing the next time it breaks.

My airplane made it's first test flight on Dec 10, 1976, and the 2nd on Jan 8, 1977. S/N 24-0077. It has the entry step and a three-position cowl flap. A hangar neighbor has a J about 25 serial numbers before mine and no step from the factory. Next time I see him I'll ask whether his cowl flaps are two or three position.