Scotch 33+ + Brittain = Happy Pilot

[McMooney]

So after months and months of hand flying due to the Brittain taking a dump and Trutrak/Garmin failing to step up,  i finally broke down and started troubleshooting my AP.

first  the hoses under the dash, no leaks but replaced anyway.

red and green hoses,  no leaks.

rear red servo, 2 holes, someone had tried fixing with rtv sealant.  picked off the sealant, applied scotch 33+ electrical tape and BAMM, fully functional Brittain Autopilot.

thing stopped rolling, holds heading, follows the magenta and green lines.

if i had Altitude hold, think i'd be set.

 

now, question, how hard would it be to just find replacement rubber for the servos ?  looks to be very thin < 1/32 rubber, maybe inner-tube material.

 

[Browncbr1]

My Brittain follows better than other expensive high end APs.   Hard for me to ever justify the expense of an electronic AP.  

[Hector]

My Brittain work great. I’ve had to fix the bellows by re-taping them but no big deal. Unfortunately I don’t have the altitude hold option, just the Accutrak (Also have a brand new accuflite with heading bug DG that I never installed). I find it very reliable and easy to fix but I want altitude hold and so waiting for Trutrak.


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[0TreeLemur]

I'd love to have a Brittain altitude hold system in my a/c.  The Accutrak II rocks.  Brought to you by the same people that got Apollo to the moon using discrete components!

I read on another thread that Brittain expects to be back in business in the summer of 2020 after getting all their STCs transferred to the new owners. 

[Hank]

Does anyone remember the oring size to use when retaping the boot to the servo? Slip the boot on, roll the oring on to hold the boot in place, fold the boot down ~1/2" over the oring, wrapsecurely with Scotch 33.

[cferr59]

Try fixing a Garmin Autopilot with electrical tape...

[N201MKTurbo]

I looked into what it takes to dip mold butyl rubber, which is the same rubber and process used to make inner tubes. It is harder than I thought it would be. You have to dissolve uncured butyl rubber in a solvent at elevated temperature. Then dip the mandrel into the rubber soup and let the solvent evaporate slowly so no bubbles and voids are formed. Then heat cure the rubber after the solvent evaporates. 

A lot to do in your garage. 

There are plenty of companies out there that do it if someone wanted to run off a few. See what it takes to get a PMA.

[Nukemzzz]

On 1/21/2020 at 7:38 PM, Hank said:

Does anyone remember the oring size to use when retaping the boot to the servo? Slip the boot on, roll the oring on to hold the boot in place, fold the boot down ~1/2" over the oring, wrapsecurely with Scotch 33.

I just dissembled mine and there was no O-Ring. I’m not sure they are needed but I’m wondering as well. 

[Hector]

I just dissembled mine and there was no O-Ring. I’m not sure they are needed but I’m wondering as well. 

I disassembled my aileron servos and the o rings came apart. I put them back together without the o rings and they have been working fine for the last 9 months. I was only trying to make them last until the TrueTrack AP came out but at the pace that is going I’m hoping they last a while longer


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