Greg_D

I finally found mine in the outboard section of the right wing near an inspection panel that was screwed in. Since your avionics guy was able to replace the servo in 15 minutes, I'm guessing that he was able to replace just the motor and didn't have to disconnect the capstan and rigging. Can you please confirm? Either way, 15 minutes seems amazing given how tightly fit everything is in there!

Mine is the KFC-150. I haven't been out to the airport to check yet, but I will report back once I do.

Where was the servo located?

Thanks! Seems like a weird location. This servo controls both ailerons, correct?

Where exactly is the autopilot roll servo located on a 94 Ovation?

Thanks for the photo. Not going to fly with the other computer, just a ground check.

Jake, thanks. Do you have anything that shows which pins are D and L? I have a friend with an Ovation very close to mine. His doesn't have a KI256 though. Would it be possible to drop his "computer" in my panel to rule that out as the problem? As I mentioned above, the servo does engage. Maybe the motor or transistors are bad in the servo. It looks like there are a bunch of them out there for sale at a reasonable price.

Skip, thanks. I did the test on the ground. The servo is definitely grabbing something, because the yokes are firm. Edit: I can’t overpower the roll servo when it is engaged. And the heading bug does not turn the yokes. The flight director command bars do respond to the heading bug though. Overpowering the servos should kick the AP off, right? You think it may be an HSI or pin issue? Where are these contacts you mentioned? Are the in the back of the KC-192 tray?

Just looking to gather some thoughts/recommendations. The plane is a 94 Ovation. Autopilot has worked rock solid since the KC-92 was repaired about two years ago, including a flight yesterday. It passes the preflight test just fine. Today, it won’t track the heading bug or capture a course. The servo is engaged as I can feel force holding the yokes when I try to turn them with the AP engaged. The flight director command bars move properly when the heading bug is turned. I’m thinking the roll servo may be shot or just bad enough that it will hold the everything steady, but won’t supply enough force to turn. When flying yesterday, I thought I may have smelled some smoke in the cockpit, but didn’t see any popped breakers and everything worked fine. I triple checked everything. Thoughts? And I’m scared to ask how much roll servos run these days.

I'm glad to hear someone had a good experience with them. I purchased one of their original Stratus units. After owning it for less than a year, the micro usb power adapter broke off. They sent me a replacement which lasted about 6 months before the same problem occurred. Some online research showed this to be a common failure for the device. When I contacted them for a second replacement, I was told that the device was "no longer supported" and subsequently couldn't be repaired by their shop. I asked if I could get a reduced price on one of the newer models with a different power connector. They offered up one of the newer models for $100 off, which was exactly what the airshow promotion was at the time! Nothing extra for being a return customer....with an original faulty product. I passed on their generous offer and vowed never to put one of their products into my panel or flight bag again. Maybe they heard that story a few too many times and fixed things!

Any traffic in the pattern, please advise?

Don't you have to touch the 275 to go from heading mode to GPSS mode? I heard that Garmin buried that function a little too deep in the menu structure.

Thanks for the update. I'm not sure how I missed the KFC150 in your plane, vs the KAP150. The flight director is in both the before and after videos! I flew an Ovation with a KAP150 today that did have the altitude preselect. I think I'd miss being able to select altitudes more than the flight director after seeing that setup in action. I'm wondering if there wasn't something wrong with your KI-256. Mine moves a tiny bit going down the runway, but not like what you showed in your before video. Anyway, thanks again for the excellent videos and analysis.

I enjoyed the YouTube video and I'm looking forward to seeing you video some approaches with your setup. Since you have the KAP150, I'm guessing there is no altitude preselect. Would you gain that capability if you switched to a GFC-500 down the road? And for those of us with the KFC150 and a KAS297B for altitude preselect, would we be able to keep that capability with the GI275s?

Mostly it's a courtesy to other pilots. Some folks seem to think the strobes aren't blinding, but at the very least, they are disorienting. I was always trained that the taxi lights are connected with an invisible string connected to the parking brake. Brake off=lights on. Brake on=lights off. The exception being that you never illuminate your taxi light to point at another aircraft's cockpit. Seems pretty simple and standard to me, but listening to radio work and watching how some pilots fly patterns, etc. makes it pretty clear that some are learning things contrary to the guidance published in the AIM!

That's pretty much the way most professional pilots are trained. I don't know of any who taxi around with strobes on all the time.

If you read 91.209, the portion you mentioned applies to the use of lights while in flight. Earlier in the section is the discussion about position lights, etc. while on the ground. And while not regulatory, the AIM does mention the use of strobe lights on the ground. I think the guidance there is pretty clear. Either way, I’d wager that a majority of professional pilots will say they have been trained to leave the strobes off, except when on or moving across a runway. And taxi lights stay off when pointing at another aircraft on the ground or when not moving.

I would say that blinding other pilots near you with strobe lights or taxi lights for that matter, is unsafe.

Sounds like it would work for you. What about people who live in populated areas with busy airports?

I'm curious about the folks who say to leave the strobes on. Do you do this at night too? If so, what do those around you think about the practice?

I had a similar problem in my Ovation with a KFC-150. I was also having problems getting the system to pass a preflight check. Lots of guessing ensued. I had the KI-256 overhauled and also had the HSI overhauled. The problem persisted. At this point it was determined that the KC192 computer needed to be looked at. While it was out of the airplane being repaired, I had a pitot static check completed. When I got the KC192 computer back and installed, the preflight checks worked perfectly. And the autopilot worked well...when flying low (<3,000 ft). Anything higher and I would get un commanded pitch changes. Troubleshooting lead me to believe I had a pitot static blockage or a faulty alternate static valve. I looked at everything else...rigging, jackscrew lubrication, yoke shaft, etc. After comparing the pitot static plumbing to a plane just a few months newer than mine, we found that the alternate and instrument lines on the alternate valve were reversed. I thought it might be a quick fix, but on subsequent flights the pitch excursions then became wild, forcing me to disconnect the autopilot. I decided to remove the glare shield and take a look behind the panel. I found a disconnected static line by the airspeed indicator and when talking with my avionics guy learned that he had removed a T connection in the system near that location that didn't seem to go anywhere. Well, it was supposed to go somewhere....to the KC192 that had been removed for repair. Although I disagreed, he doubted that it would make that much of a difference and put the connection back in. The system now works perfectly in all modes! Altitude pre-select capture is spot on and the entire system operates better than it ever has in my 14 years of ownership. Anyway, a long way of saying to check the entire pitot-static system carefully.

Maybe he can swap it with the TN F model Jimmy has over there :). But he'd have to start all over with the panel again.

Mike, I'm based at Hooks and have an Ovation. I'd be glad to show you around and take you up for a flight, but I doubt you'd be looking at an Ovation for your 1st Mooney (then again, maybe so). I know several other owners on the field and can get you set up to look at those too. I've owned 4 Mooneys and ferry them on the side when I'm not flying my airline gig.

I will elaborate since I used to own the plane in question and have flown it both before the pre-buy and repair work was started and afterwards . The pre-buy uncovered a crack on the engine mount. The associated repair involved removing the turbo to get to the spot on the mount. Again, the turbo was developing boost during a test flight before the pre-buy and during delivery for the pre-buy. After everything was reinstalled, the turbo no longer produced any boost whatsoever, both on the ground and in the air. The wastegate rigging was checked and the entire system was checked for air leaks. A couple of leaks were found and repaired in the process. The turbo and the engine had been recently overhauled (<~40 hours). The turbo was sent to RayJay to be checked and was returned with no problems found. This process started almost 2 months ago. I can certainly understand Russell's frustration!

Where does someone obtain this app?