Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  The system is in my opinion a huge safety factor and I can’t imagine why one would remove the PC system instead of getting it fixed.     I just got my PC system overhauled by Brittain. (servo repair was $160). The cost is extremely reasonably (by aviation standards) and the people are very nice and helpful. If you add the Accutrack II you have a good working autopilot. We have the Accutrack II coupled to a GX60 and the system tracks within 0.1 miles even in high cross wind condition. The install is very simple to install and I saw one for sale on ebay this weekend.  In the meantime if you still want to get rid of the system I am interested in all your parts. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

  The system is in my opinion a huge safety factor and I can’t imagine why one would remove the PC system instead of getting it fixed.     I just got my PC system overhauled by Brittain. (servo repair was $160). The cost is extremely reasonably (by aviation standards) and the people are very nice and helpful. If you add the Accutrack II you have a good working autopilot. We have the Accutrack II coupled to a GX60 and the system tracks within 0.1 miles even in high cross wind condition. The install is very simple to install and I saw one for sale on ebay this weekend.  In the meantime if you still want to get rid of the system I am interested in all your parts. 

I took the system off on my MX's recommendation. I don't know much about what you can do with this system other than use it as a wing leveler. I decided to take the MX's advice because the airplane pretty much flyes straight on its own. I find that the push-pull tubes give me a sense of stability that no other fly by wire aircraft has given me. Another issue I was having was that my turn coordinator was recently overhauled and the slip indicator (ball) was stuck in the middle. When I remove it from the aircraft it moves freely but when I have it installed it gets stuck in the center.

 

When I first purchased the airplane I found a good autopilot system on ebay (Stec 60-2) taken out of a 68C just like mine but now I am thinking about selling it back for the same price I got it for (2,500) because of the news I read about being able to put non certified parts on GA aircraft. Garmin has an MFD system with free autopilot for about 10K. I don't know which way I should go with putting some sort of autopilot on my aircraft at this point (PCL, Stec, or wait for Garmin).  Can someone give me some imput on what would be the most cost effective and efficient way to go? I have a GX62 that I can couple to the PCL as you suggested, but how much more functionality can I get out of this system versus an Stec or Garmin (non-cert)? Is it possible to connect the Stec to the PCL?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took the system off on my MX's recommendation. I don't know much about what you can do with this system other than use it as a wing leveler. I decided to take the MX's advice because the airplane pretty much flyes straight on its own. I find that the push-pull tubes give me a sense of stability that no other fly by wire aircraft has given me. Another issue I was having was that my turn coordinator was recently overhauled and the slip indicator (ball) was stuck in the middle. When I remove it from the aircraft it moves freely but when I have it installed it gets stuck in the center.

 

When I first purchased the airplane I found a good autopilot system on ebay (Stec 60-2) taken out of a 68C just like mine but now I am thinking about selling it back for the same price I got it for (2,500) because of the news I read about being able to put non certified parts on GA aircraft. Garmin has an MFD system with free autopilot for about 10K. I don't know which way I should go with putting some sort of autopilot on my aircraft at this point (PCL, Stec, or wait for Garmin). Can someone give me some imput on what would be the most cost effective and efficient way to go? I have a GX62 that I can couple to the PCL as you suggested, but how much more functionality can I get out of this system versus an Stec or Garmin (non-cert)? Is it possible to connect the Stec to the PCL?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took the system off on my MX's recommendation. I don't know much about what you can do with this system other than use it as a wing leveler. I decided to take the MX's advice because the airplane pretty much flyes straight on its own. I find that the push-pull tubes give me a sense of stability that no other fly by wire aircraft has given me. Another issue I was having was that my turn coordinator was recently overhauled and the slip indicator (ball) was stuck in the middle. When I remove it from the aircraft it moves freely but when I have it installed it gets stuck in the center. When I first purchased the airplane I found a good autopilot system on ebay (Stec 60-2) taken out of a 68C just like mine but now I am thinking about selling it back for the same price I got it for (2,500) because of the news I read about being able to put non certified parts on GA aircraft. Garmin has an MFD system with free autopilot for about 10K. I don't know which way I should go with putting some sort of autopilot on my aircraft at this point (PCL, Stec, or wait for Garmin). Can someone give me some imput on what would be the most cost effective and efficient way to go? I have a GX62 that I can couple to the PCL as you suggested, but how much more functionality can I get out of this system versus an Stec or Garmin (non-cert)? Is it possible to connect the Stec to the PCL?
The reason people commented how they did was because the autopilot you removed could have been used as the basic building block for a more extensive system. That said, I went down the same path you are headed. I could not locate any additional hardware to make my wing leveler complete. So I removed it as well. Upgrading your autopilot, will involve understanding what is certified to be used with your airplane. No airplane mechanic will sign off on a non-certified auto pilot in a certified airplane. The autopilot you purchased, would also need to have the paperwork updated by Cobham. They would need to re-issue the STC for your plane. And of course they charge for this. You have not indicated what type of flying you are doing. If you fly IFR on a regular basis, a more elaborate system will be more beneficial to you. If you are looking for just an autopilot to help with the workload on long cross countries and you're not too concerned about approach capabilities, a lesser autopilot will work for you. Tell us a little bit more about your intentions with the plane. Do you plan on keeping it for a long period of time? In my situation, I was doing IFR flying on a regular basis. My wing leveler was not working and I could not locate parts to upgrade it to do coupling with the navigation system. I removed it and install an STEC 60–2. That was back in 1998. So you can see that I got my money's worth out of it. With my more recent decision to upgrade my avionics stack, the STEC became the center for the upgrade. What I upgraded to now includes the STEC as an intergal part of the solution. Tell us more about your plans and type of flying you're doing. I'm sure there are number of people here who can offer advice. We are good at spending other people's money :-)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I first purchased the airplane I found a good autopilot system on ebay (Stec 60-2) taken out of a 68C just like mine but now I am thinking about selling it back for the same price I got it for (2,500) because of the news I read about being able to put non certified parts on GA aircraft.

 

If you are thinking non-certified it will probably be a couple years before you can do that.  Depends on if you want to wait that long or not and then live with any limitations the FAA decides to impose.  If you do want to go that route, you might also look at Trio http://trioavionics.com   Prices range from $1800 to $3100.  I think that includes the servos.  However, once again, you may not install it yet because it may not be used on certified aircraft at this time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The reason people commented how they did was because the autopilot you removed could have been used as the basic building block for a more extensive system. That said, I went down the same path you are headed. I could not locate any additional hardware to make my wing leveler complete. So I removed it as well. Upgrading your autopilot, will involve understanding what is certified to be used with your airplane. No airplane mechanic will sign off on a non-certified auto pilot in a certified airplane. The autopilot you purchased, would also need to have the paperwork updated by Cobham. They would need to re-issue the STC for your plane. And of course they charge for this. You have not indicated what type of flying you are doing. If you fly IFR on a regular basis, a more elaborate system will be more beneficial to you. If you are looking for just an autopilot to help with the workload on long cross countries and you're not too concerned about approach capabilities, a lesser autopilot will work for you. Tell us a little bit more about your intentions with the plane. Do you plan on keeping it for a long period of time? In my situation, I was doing IFR flying on a regular basis. My wing leveler was not working and I could not locate parts to upgrade it to do coupling with the navigation system. I removed it and install an STEC 60–2. That was back in 1998. So you can see that I got my money's worth out of it. With my more recent decision to upgrade my avionics stack, the STEC became the center for the upgrade. What I upgraded to now includes the STEC as an intergal part of the solution. Tell us more about your plans and type of flying you're doing. I'm sure there are number of people here who can offer advice. We are good at spending other people's money :-)

Marauder,

Thank you so much for taking the time to making things more clear for me. I plan to use the aircraft for as many years as possible.  I will be using it mainly to travel on long xcounty flights and work my way up the ratings ladder. Currently it is equipped with an ILS glide slope indicator coupled to the KX-155 and a CDI coupled to the GPS (Apollo GX65 GPS/COMM). From what I understand the GX65 is IFR approved for enroute but not for the approach. I have all the parts required to make the PC a complete system. The only reason it was not working is because the rubber boots were all torn. The other thing I noticed was that the turn coordinator's inclinometer was stuck in the center while installed. When I removed the coordinator the ball ran free.  Unlike a standard turn coordinator that has a ball inside of fluid, my turn cooridinator's inclinometer looks like a pendulum. I was wondering, how much did it cost you to have your 60-2 system certified?  Hopeflully I can get people to help spend my money in the most economical maner possible, LOL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like you still have a couple of paths you can take. Sounds like you have most of the components to make your Brittain system functional. I still have components I removed, including the boots. You are more than welcome to them if you want to piece your system back together again. post-9886-13867275659726_thumb.jpg Including the TC post-9886-13867276180161_thumb.jpg post-9886-13867276616842_thumb.jpg As for the STEC 60-2, I hope you are seated. Back in 1998 I paid around $11k installed. Today I think the same system is over $22k. With the way the market is today, you may find a plane that meets all of your requirements with it costing you less in the long haul. Trust me, if I didn't plan on keeping my Mooney for the long haul, I would have looked at the available planes out there. I am going on my 23rd year of ownership and have no plans on selling... If you want advice on anything, please let me know. I will try to help you out. I've had some major surgery done... post-9886-13867281901267_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like you still have a couple of paths you can take. Sounds like you have most of the components to make your Brittain system functional. I still have components I removed, including the boots. You are more than welcome to them if you want to piece your system back together again. attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386727322.330876.jpg Including the TC attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386727374.720495.jpg attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386727418.500103.jpg As for the STEC 60-2, I hope you are seated. Back in 1998 I paid around $11k installed. Today I think the same system is over $22k. With the way the market is today, you may find a plane that meets all of your requirements with it costing you less in the long haul. Trust me, if I didn't plan on keeping my Mooney for the long haul, I would have looked at the available planes out there. I am going on my 23rd year of ownership and have no plans on selling... If you want advice on anything, please let me know. I will try to help you out. I've had some major surgery done... attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386727946.902013.jpg

Can you tell me if I am missing anything else to make the system work? I have four servos (two with red tubes attached; two with green tubes attached; all rubber boots ripped), the turn coordinator (slip indicator does not work when installed because the pendulum type ball is stuck in the center); the last component is some sort of vacum manifold that connects basically everything together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can you tell me if I am missing anything else to make the system work? I have four servos (two with red tubes attached; two with green tubes attached; all rubber boots ripped), the turn coordinator (slip indicator does not work when installed because the pendulum type ball is stuck in the center); the last component is some sort of vacum manifold that connects basically everything together.

Do be honest, I'm not sure. Let me look in my toy box and see what is there. Be right back...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is what I have... post-9886-13868139878827_thumb.jpg post-9886-13868140242532_thumb.jpg None of the boots appeared ripped. These are the turn coordinator parts. Don't remember what the round thing does. post-9886-13868141089323_thumb.jpg I think this is the vacuum interrupt solenoid that connects to the yoke. post-9886-13868141697973_thumb.jpg And I remember these vacuum filters pissed me off. With the label: post-9886-13868142955196_thumb.jpg And with the label removed: post-9886-13868143739695_thumb.jpg What a racket... If you can find out if they will help, they are yours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is what I have... attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386813744.961253.jpg attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386813781.378135.jpg None of the boots appeared ripped. These are the turn coordinator parts. Don't remember what the round thing does. attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386813866.168148.jpg I think this is the vacuum interrupt solenoid that connects to the yoke. attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386813926.876678.jpg And I remember these vacuum filters pissed me off. With the label: attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386814052.600568.jpg And with the label removed: attachicon.gifImageUploadedByTapatalk1386814131.242044.jpg What a racket... If you can find out if they will help, they are yours.

 

PM sent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.