STEC 3100 Digital Autopilot

[Piotrekpdx]

Hi Simpson,

Have you found your 15 owners yet? I'm interested.

Thank you!

[Simpson Bennett]

We are still looking for about 10 more POs. 

We should be receiving the Cessna 182, Bonanza A35/36, PA-32 and Cessna 210 (non-pressurized) STC this week or next. With that said, the hangar is full with the next batch of airframes for installation and STC tests. Those airframes are the 177 Cardinal, Cessna 3XX Series, Cessna 4XX Series, Beechcraft Baron, and Piper PA-42. If we get enough interest,  we can fit the Mooney Series in sooner rather than later.

Let your Genesys dealer know that you're interested in placing a PO for the 3100. Submitting a PO ahead of the STC being issued qualifies you for a special extended warranty. The factory warranty will cover all new parts (new installs and new controllers on upgrades) for 3 years! Additionally, we will extend a 2-year warranty on any currently installed S-TEC servos (a value in the thousands of dollars). This means your 55X servos that were installed in 1998 are now covered under a new 2-year warranty.

Our dealers can be found here: http://genesys-aerosystems.com/dealer-locator

[Jeff_S]

Simpson, any more word on testing and compatibility with the G1000 in the Mooney?

[Simpson Bennett]

10 hours ago, Jeff_S said:

Simpson, any more word on testing and compatibility with the G1000 in the Mooney?

Nothing new to report. It is a top project for our Product Manager. I will report back once I have some more information.

[PeytonM]

I just received an email and Press Release from Genesys. They are copied below.  I talked with Barry LeBlanc today and they are still short the 10 POs before they will pull the Mooney STC trigger. Check out the next tier models they have in line. I was surprised to see how many makes/models are on it.  I know some Mooney owners are waiting for the TruTrak and Trio.  From what I’ve seen, these may not be approach-certified.  I have an ailing Century 2000, so that’s a deal-breaker. I think we may have two groups of Mooney owners: those who have no autopilot at all, and those who have something similar to my C2000.  Maybe the former sees the $20K (plus install) as outrageous for their airframe; I get that.  But for others flying models with values north of $120K, this seems in line with other upgrades e.g. paint, interior, GPS systems, glass panels.  Everyone is entitled to evaluate cost v benefit, but there is no reason to bash vendors. (MSers may have a bad rep here. That’s very disappointing to me. Talking about our airplanes on a site like this should be a safe haven from the vitriol that has crept into our world.)

I have found my discussions with Barry to be open and constructive.  He’s a good guy.  Give him a call or drop him a note.  940.327.0707  barry.leblanc@genesys-aerosystems.com

From Barry: “We are trying to add as many aircraft as possible to our list of STC aircraft for the 3100.  Right now we are prioritizing STCs based upon the level of interest (level of interest is based upon received POs).  Any makes and models where we receive 15 POs are prioritized on our STC list.  

 Any PO received before we start the STC can be canceled.  We will notify all persons when the STC commences indicating they have three weeks to cancel or the PO will at that time be subject to a cancellation fee. 

 To build a backlog of orders which will allow us to ship autopilots as soon as we get the STC we are offing the following incentive to end users.  

• For new installs, the warranty will be three years for the entire system (1 more year than our standard)
• For upgrades, the 3100 will be warrantied for three years, and the servos will be warrantied for two years no matter how old they are.  They DO NOT need to be sent in for a check. There is no $500 check fee if there is an issue.
• Please note, the owner will need to submit a warranty registration card within 60 days of installation to receive the additional warranty. 

 To receive the above, we must accept the PO before the receipt of PMA-STC.The extended warranty offer is only valid until we gain the STC. Once that occurs, the regular warranty period will be offered. 

I am the point of contact for the following airframes. The models I am looking for are:

Mooney’s

Beavers

Twin Otters

Lake Aircraft

From Genesys: Genesys Aerosystems, leading manufacturer of autopilots and stability augmentation systems for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, announces today that it has earned FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval of the S-TEC 3100 on:

·        Cessna 210K through R models

·        Beechcraft Bonanza A35/36 series models.

·        Cessna 182 series

 

Next on the 3100 STC roadmap are the:

·        Piper PA-32 

·        Cessna 177

·        Cessna 310, 320, 335, 340 and 340A

·        Cessna P210

·        Cessna 414, 421 and 425

·        Piper PA-46 series

Thank You,

Barry LeBlanc

Genesys Aerosystems

Regional Sales Manager

M: 940.327.0707

[Marauder]

I just received an email and Press Release from Genesys. They are copied below.  I talked with Barry LeBlanc today and they are still short the 10 POs before they will pull the Mooney STC trigger. Check out the next tier models they have in line. I was surprised to see how many makes/models are on it.  I know some Mooney owners are waiting for the TruTrak and Trio.  From what I’ve seen, these may not be approach-certified.  I have an ailing Century 2000, so that’s a deal-breaker. I think we may have two groups of Mooney owners: those who have no autopilot at all, and those who have something similar to my C2000.  Maybe the former sees the $20K (plus install) as outrageous for their airframe; I get that.  But for others flying models with values north of $120K, this seems in line with other upgrades e.g. paint, interior, GPS systems, glass panels.  Everyone is entitled to evaluate cost v benefit, but there is no reason to bash vendors. (MSers may have a bad rep here. That’s very disappointing to me. Talking about our airplanes on a site like this should be a safe haven from the vitriol that has crept into our world.)
I have found my discussions with Barry to be open and constructive.  He’s a good guy.  Give him a call or drop him a note.  940.327.0707  barry.leblanc@genesys-aerosystems.com

From Barry: “We are trying to add as many aircraft as possible to our list of STC aircraft for the 3100.  Right now we are prioritizing STCs based upon the level of interest (level of interest is based upon received POs).  Any makes and models where we receive 15 POs are prioritized on our STC list.  

 Any PO received before we start the STC can be canceled.  We will notify all persons when the STC commences indicating they have three weeks to cancel or the PO will at that time be subject to a cancellation fee. 

 To build a backlog of orders which will allow us to ship autopilots as soon as we get the STC we are offing the following incentive to end users.  

• For new installs, the warranty will be three years for the entire system (1 more year than our standard)
• For upgrades, the 3100 will be warrantied for three years, and the servos will be warrantied for two years no matter how old they are.  They DO NOT need to be sent in for a check. There is no $500 check fee if there is an issue.
• Please note, the owner will need to submit a warranty registration card within 60 days of installation to receive the additional warranty. 

 To receive the above, we must accept the PO before the receipt of PMA-STC.The extended warranty offer is only valid until we gain the STC. Once that occurs, the regular warranty period will be offered. 

I am the point of contact for the following airframes. The models I am looking for are:

Mooney’s

Beavers

Twin Otters

Lake Aircraft

From Genesys: Genesys Aerosystems, leading manufacturer of autopilots and stability augmentation systems for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, announces today that it has earned FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval of the S-TEC 3100 on:

·        Cessna 210K through R models ·        Beechcraft Bonanza A35/36 series models. ·        Cessna 182 series   Next on the 3100 STC roadmap are the: ·        Piper PA-32  ·        Cessna 177 ·        Cessna 310, 320, 335, 340 and 940.327.0707

The issue is the price. I would love to pull the trigger on the 3100 but at $10k for the upgrade, a 3 year warranty on my 20 year servos just won’t cut it. Especially when other vendors will be offering a system with all new hardware.

If the price were in line with the projected new Garmin AP, some of us might consider it because of the less complicated installation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Simpson Bennett]

On 4/10/2018 at 7:39 PM, Marauder said:

 

The issue is the price. I would love to pull the trigger on the 3100 but at $10k for the upgrade, a 3 year warranty on my 20 year servos just won’t cut it. Especially when other vendors will be offering a system with all new hardware.

If the price were in line with the projected new Garmin AP, some of us might consider it because of the less complicated installation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

If the comparison was apples to apples, you should be using the GFC600 ($19,995) as the starting point. Even with that said, the GFC600 does not include everything needed for installation, whereas the $9,995 (55X upgrade to 3100) and the $19,995 (new installation) pricing includes all the components that the dealer needs.

[Cris]

On 4/2/2018 at 9:27 AM, Simpson Bennett said:

We are still looking for about 10 more POs. 

We should be receiving the Cessna 182, Bonanza A35/36, PA-32 and Cessna 210 (non-pressurized) STC this week or next. With that said, the hangar is full with the next batch of airframes for installation and STC tests. Those airframes are the 177 Cardinal, Cessna 3XX Series, Cessna 4XX Series, Beechcraft Baron, and Piper PA-42. If we get enough interest,  we can fit the Mooney Series in sooner rather than later.

Let your Genesys dealer know that you're interested in placing a PO for the 3100. Submitting a PO ahead of the STC being issued qualifies you for a special extended warranty. The factory warranty will cover all new parts (new installs and new controllers on upgrades) for 3 years! Additionally, we will extend a 2-year warranty on any currently installed S-TEC servos (a value in the thousands of dollars). This means your 55X servos that were installed in 1998 are now covered under a new 2-year warranty.

Our dealers can be found here: http://genesys-aerosystems.com/dealer-locator

Simpson- I’m on board for the upgrade and will advise Barry. Just waiting for final quote. Dealer is working with Genesys to determine what options I can use. 

[testwest]

Hi Simpson

Congratulations on receiving your STCs, that is a big deal!

One of your FAA pilots may be K. Lund, he was a classmate at the AF Academy and also in my TPS class at Edwards.

Back to topic, sorry for the dumb question, but are the Aspen PFD flight mode annunciators driven by the 3100? I do know the altitude preselect, GPSS and FD all work with it, but have not seen this specific question answered.....

Edited April 30, 2018 by testwest
spelling

[Cris]

On 4/26/2018 at 9:30 PM, Mooney in Oz said:

Cris, can you please elaborate on what this looks like? I think it’s starting to happen to mine.

 

On 4/2/2018 at 9:27 AM, Simpson Bennett said:

We are still looking for about 10 more POs. 

We should be receiving the Cessna 182, Bonanza A35/36, PA-32 and Cessna 210 (non-pressurized) STC this week or next. With that said, the hangar is full with the next batch of airframes for installation and STC tests. Those airframes are the 177 Cardinal, Cessna 3XX Series, Cessna 4XX Series, Beechcraft Baron, and Piper PA-42. If we get enough interest,  we can fit the Mooney Series in sooner rather than later.

Let your Genesys dealer know that you're interested in placing a PO for the 3100. Submitting a PO ahead of the STC being issued qualifies you for a special extended warranty. The factory warranty will cover all new parts (new installs and new controllers on upgrades) for 3 years! Additionally, we will extend a 2-year warranty on any currently installed S-TEC servos (a value in the thousands of dollars). This means your 55X servos that were installed in 1998 are now covered under a new 2-year warranty.

Our dealers can be found here: http://genesys-aerosystems.com/dealer-locator

Just advised Barry LeBlanc from Genesys that I will be doing the upgrade. He is still about 7 PO’s short of the required 15. One important piece of news from Barry is for those with the G1000 system. Genesys has a work around to upgrade that system with the Stec 3100. So hopefully that will help those that are on the fence for this upgrade. 

[Simpson Bennett]

11 hours ago, testwest said:

Hi Simpson

Congratulations on receiving your STCs, that is a big deal!

One of your FAA pilots may be K. Lund, he was a classmate at the AF Academy and also in my TPS class at Edwards.

Back to topic, sorry for the dumb question, but are the Aspen PFD flight mode annunciators driven by the 3100? I do know the altitude preselect, GPSS and FD all work with it, but have not seen this specific question answered.....

Thanks!

Currently, modes are not displayed on the Aspen PFD. VS and ALT bugs on the EFD1000 do not transfer to the 3100. Altitude preselect and VS control are available through 3100 bezel inputs. Aspen is working on a software update to enable those, as well as a few more features. Our understanding is that the software update will be out this summer, I'd advise you contact Aspen for a more specific date.

[Awful_Charlie]

Is there anything for current BK owners? I'm overall fairly happy with the KFC150, but it does take a little too much maintenance for my liking, and the support for them is rather difficult and not getting any better

[Simpson Bennett]

2 minutes ago, Awful_Charlie said:

Is there anything for current BK owners? I'm overall fairly happy with the KFC150, but it does take a little too much maintenance for my liking, and the support for them is rather difficult and not getting any better

Unfortunately, we can't use the KFC servos.

[mike_elliott]

24 minutes ago, Simpson Bennett said:

Unfortunately, we can't use the KFC servos.

Hi Simpson,

Barry reached out to me about using the Mooney Summit as a way to reach Mooney owners. I explained we are not a trade show but we do have sponsorship opportunities we could entertain along with we accept donations for our silent auction and door prizes. He went radio silent since. Do you guys want to donate a 3100 to our silent auction? If so, just let me know. We are coming up on finalizing our sponsorships this year and would welcome Genesys joining our list of industry leaders who support the Mooney Community.

Thanks

 

[Jeff_S]

On 4/30/2018 at 10:55 AM, Cris said:

 

Just advised Barry LeBlanc from Genesys that I will be doing the upgrade. He is still about 7 PO’s short of the required 15. One important piece of news from Barry is for those with the G1000 system. Genesys has a work around to upgrade that system with the Stec 3100. So hopefully that will help those that are on the fence for this upgrade. 

Simpson, can you elaborate on the G1000 issue and what this “work around” is? As  noted in an earlier post, I would interested in the upgrade but integration with the G1000 is essential. Thanks.

[Simpson Bennett]

14 hours ago, Jeff_S said:

Simpson, can you elaborate on the G1000 issue and what this “work around” is? As  noted in an earlier post, I would interested in the upgrade but integration with the G1000 is essential. Thanks.

The issue is that we don't know if the G1000 communicates to autopilots the same way the G500/600 (one interface that is already supported) does. Without testing the interface, we can't know for certain. It's something that we are investigating at the moment and more information should follow soon.

[201Mooniac]

How does the 3100 interface to the G500TXi and what controls are available on the G500TXi versus having to use the 3100 control panel?  Are all the annunciations available on the G500TXi?  I'm presuming FD capabilities are available.

[Simpson Bennett]

5 hours ago, 201Mooniac said:

How does the 3100 interface to the G500TXi and what controls are available on the G500TXi versus having to use the 3100 control panel?  Are all the annunciations available on the G500TXi?  I'm presuming FD capabilities are available.

Not yet. We are working on the TXi interface at the moment and expect it to be the same as the G500/600 interface, but we won’t know for sure until we can test it. I will pass along any information once we test it.

The G500/600 interface allows cross communication of ALT and VS bugs and will also display flight director. The modes will not be annunciated on the G500/600, these will be displayed on the 3100 bezel. 

[201Mooniac]

1 hour ago, Simpson Bennett said:

Not yet. We are working on the TXi interface at the moment and expect it to be the same as the G500/600 interface, but we won’t know for sure until we can test it. I will pass along any information once we test it.

The G500/600 interface allows cross communication of ALT and VS bugs and will also display flight director. The modes will not be annunciated on the G500/600, these will be displayed on the 3100 bezel. 

Will a remote annunciator be needed (like the ST-645)?  Also, can modes be enabled from the G500?  How about baro correction for altitude compensation?  Thanks for being here to help with clear information.

[201Mooniac]

Looks like they have 9 of the required 15 POs to get started.  I'm working on getting my PO in now.  Any others?

[Simpson Bennett]

On 5/3/2018 at 6:37 PM, 201Mooniac said:

Will a remote annunciator be needed (like the ST-645)?  Also, can modes be enabled from the G500?  How about baro correction for altitude compensation?  Thanks for being here to help with clear information.

No, an annunciator will not be needed, the autopilot should be in the field of view. Modes will not display on the G500. We can accept the baro correction coming from the G500.

[201Mooniac]

2 hours ago, Simpson Bennett said:

No, an annunciator will not be needed, the autopilot should be in the field of view. Modes will not display on the G500. We can accept the baro correction coming from the G500.

Sorry, I wasn't clear, I was wondering if you can set the modes from the G500.  Thanks for the great info.

[Simpson Bennett]

13 hours ago, 201Mooniac said:

Sorry, I wasn't clear, I was wondering if you can set the modes from the G500.  Thanks for the great info.

No. I don't think the G500 has the ability to set modes on any autopilot.

[Warren]

On 4/30/2018 at 11:52 AM, Awful_Charlie said:

Is there anything for current BK owners? I'm overall fairly happy with the KFC150, but it does take a little too much maintenance for my liking, and the support for them is rather difficult and not getting any better

BK is offering an upgrade to their line of autopilots.  For $10k you get a new touch screen autopilot and warranty on existing servos (2 years).  Very similar deal and it appears to be a really easy install.  Not sure if I will be voluntarily spending $10k up upgrade my KFC150 proactively.  But, if the altitude preselect or the KFC150 fails all the parts are expensive and this might be a very good option to go to newer technology.

https://bendixking.com/en/products/aerocruze

It is not clear if this is currently available or not.

If anyone as any more information for us BK autopilot owners please share.

[Steve W]

1 hour ago, Warren said:

 

If anyone as any more information for us BK autopilot owners please share.

BeechTalk says December 2018. But as the KI300 it requires(or Aspen, G500) is not even shipping yet, my guess would be December 2020 at the earliest.

If you have no glass now then I think for many the G5+GFC 500 will be a better upgrade. If you already have something that works with it then it may make sense.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Steve W