TruTrak Autopilot Pre Order's / Status Update

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, Navi said:

Remember... The above is for the Pipers... And yes, for "clean" installs.. moving any of the radio stack around and moving antennas on the belly of the aircraft under the back seat adds to the time/cost.

Removing our old AP was easy, and the time involved in removals was gained back with time saved by using existing wiring from the GPS (2) , master switch , breaker and yoke switch wiring..  So the removal time was a wash....  (and  the TT roll servo bolts back in the SAME place. and with the identical bracket dimensions  as the Century I servo)

Panels removed for the Century I removal were the same panels for the TT install.

>>I had one avionics shop describe their general pricing of autopilots install labor is roughly 25hrs per servo involved?

We did the WHOLE removal/installation in 19-20  man hours...

Again, this in a Piper Warrior. Mooneys will be different. I am told there are more difficult to access some areas..

The TT install in the PA-28s is brilliantly simple... (others words)  I caution the Mooneys may be different.. but word in the forums suggest it may be quite easy... The "25 hrs per servo"  thingy has NOT been the case for the TTs being installed in Cessnas,  PA-28s and PA-32s...

We will know soon...

Nav

 

 

Sure thing - thanks for the caveat.  That 25hr per servo thing was stated without it being Mooney specific.

Anyway I will be VERY interested to learn what actual install times are in a real Mooney.

[Navi]

1 hour ago, NJMac said:

 

 

 

Are you saying I should sell the Moonship and get a piper?

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Hahahaha.. not a chance!     Your Moonship will pass my Warrior like I am in a stall....  All I will ever see is your  tail light....   :)

Nav

[Jeev]

2 hours ago, nosky2high said:

Jeev, get mine sent ASAP once approved.

I’ve got my A&P(IA) lined up to remove the entire Brittain system and install an electric AI with inclinometer in place of the Brittain TC. I’m keeping the vacuum pump and AI/DG for now.

Then i’ll fly over to our local avionics shop for the TruTrak install. My M20F should be a good indicator for the group as to what the install times should be for the Brittain equipped vintage Mooneys. 

Have fun at Oshkosh, hopefully I’ll get there next year.

Anthony

WILCO Anthony!  As for the install times as soon as they release the Mooney install manual after approval I will post it here so everyone can get an ideal of what is involved. 

https://wolfaviationsales.com/trutrak-autopilots#97de52d9-c555-4987-bafd-881053549dc9

[hypertech]

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/press-release-listing/2019/july/honeywell-to-acquire-trutrak-flight-systems

[toto]

7 minutes ago, hypertech said:

https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en/press-release-listing/2019/july/honeywell-to-acquire-trutrak-flight-systems

For everyone who loves working with BendixKing for sales and support, and loves TruTrak products - it's a match made in heaven

But seriously, this is not surprising. 

[NJMac]

SOB. That sucks. And I want to say I called it too.

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[whiskytango]

No surprise since the BK AeroCruz 100 is a just a private branded TruTrak.

[Navi]

18 minutes ago, whiskytango said:

No surprise since the BK AeroCruz 100 is a just a private branded TruTrak.

 Not a surprise … let's see how it works out....  :)

Nav

[NJMac]

 Not a surprise … let's see how it works out.... 
Nav

Any bets on how quickly the pricing rises on their products? Betting 5k will be a ghost if they ever get an STC for mooneys. Making me into a garmin fan all of a sudden.

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[Navi]

3 minutes ago, NJMac said:

Any bets on how quickly the pricing rises on their products? Betting 5k will be a ghost if they ever get an STC for mooneys. Making me into a garmin fan all of a sudden.

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  Hmmm... it's early yet...  :)

It's a crowded niche market... changing the price point (without adding features) is risky.. 

I see the possibility of...

Selectable airspeed, cert below 700 ft., integration with the Aero View Touch, Auto Trim... etc. sooner...

Nav

[DXB]

That sucks. Market pressures leading a big crappy company to buy a small strong one with very competitive prices.  What could go wrong. 

[MBDiagMan]

I spent most of my technology career with two innovative upstart companies that ultimately resulted in the founder(s) cashing in selling to large companies.  Worked out well for me personally, but niether Time did it work to the advantage of our cus5omers.  I sure hope that pattern doesn’t hold true here.

And I was just starting to hope for an Oshkosh announcement of theTT Mooney certification.  It appears that there is a lot of hand flying in my future.

[David_H]

Even though TT positioning itself for acquisition by BK/ Honeywell was called out earlier in this thread, this is very disappointing news. This acquisition will likely not be beneficial for General Aviation. 

I wonder if the Piper and Cessna guys will now be required to send in their TT autopilots to BK for service now. That would be a very tough pill to have to swallow.

[Bob R]

16 minutes ago, David_H said:

Even though TT positioning itself for acquisition by BK/ Honeywell was called out earlier in this thread, this is very disappointing news. This acquisition will likely not be beneficial for General Aviation. 

I wonder if the Piper and Cessna guys will now be required to send in their TT autopilots to BK for service now. That would be a very tough pill to have to swallow.

Cannot overstate how utterly disappointed I am. I can only assume they have abandoned the STC.

[Steve W]

7 minutes ago, Bob R said:

Cannot overstate how utterly disappointed I am. I can only assume they have abandoned the STC.

Usually in acquisitions like this the principals have to stick around for a year for their payout, so I expect anything in-progress will likely be finished, and around this time next year they'll be fully borgified and you can have King's Legendary* Support to look forward to.

*As at least one person has reminded me over the years legendary does not actually mean good.

 

[NJMac]

Cannot overstate how utterly disappointed I am. I can only assume they have abandoned the STC.

I know. Looked at garmin today and they’re still listing the short bodies as a 12 month horizon.


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[David_H]

30 minutes ago, Steve W said:

Usually in acquisitions like this the principals have to stick around for a year for their payout, so I expect anything in-progress will likely be finished, and around this time next year they'll be fully borgified and you can have King's Legendary* Support to look forward to.

*As at least one person has reminded me over the years legendary does not actually mean good.

Imagine receiving a letter or an email welcoming you to the BK/ Honeywell family. It may very well state that they look forward to providing "Legendary Support."

The official acquisition announcement was just made. However, one has to ask: just how long has the clock been ticking since closing the acquisition deal?

Edited July 24, 2019 by David_H
Grammar

[NJMac]

Imagine receiving a getting a letter or an email welcoming you to the BK/ Honeywell family. It may very well state that they look forward to providing "Legendary Support."
The official acquisition announcement was just made. However, one has to ask: just how long has the clock been ticking since closing the acquisition deal?

It had to have started when they started relabeling the vision

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[David_H]

Perhaps it's a coincidence that BK also recently unveiled the AeroCruze AP.

It takes time to develop and bring a product to market. If BK had possessed the technological ability to develop the AeroCruze, it would have made very little business sense to acquire TT.

 

[DustinNwind]

3 hours ago, MBDiagMan said:

I spent most of my technology career with two innovative upstart companies that ultimately resulted in the founder(s) cashing in selling to large companies.  Worked out well for me personally, but niether Time did it work to the advantage of our cus5omers.  I sure hope that pattern doesn’t hold true here.

And I was just starting to hope for an Oshkosh announcement of theTT Mooney certification.  It appears that there is a lot of hand flying in my future.

I talked to TT yesterday and they said now it won't be till the fall/ late summer most likely. 

[whiskytango]

4 hours ago, Steve W said:

Usually in acquisitions like this the principals have to stick around for a year for their payout, so I expect anything in-progress will likely be finished, and around this time next year they'll be fully borgified and you can have King's Legendary* Support to look forward to.

*As at least one person has reminded me over the years legendary does not actually mean good.

 

Andrew Barker of TruTrak working for Bendix King makes about as much sense as Steve Jobs working for Microsoft.  Let's hope Andrew survives the contractually mandated transition period with his sanity intact.

[aviatoreb]

7 hours ago, NJMac said:

Any bets on how quickly the pricing rises on their products? Betting 5k will be a ghost if they ever get an STC for mooneys. Making me into a garmin fan all of a sudden.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

Bk is the same company who wanted to sell me a replacement yoke mount electric trim switch plastic unit with a $2 microswitch in it for $2500.  So when I found an overpriced buy cheaper old new stock of the same for $900 I got it.

[Steve W]

I was thinking how BK could be even more evil than just raising the prices. They could limit the STC to only aircraft which didn't come from the factory with a King Autopilot. If yours came with a King then you have to upgrade to the AeroCruze 230... I probably shouldn't give them ideas.

[McMooney]

darn, guess it's going to be garmin or trio 

[MBDiagMan]

Is Trio certified for Mooney?