Executive Autopilots - Sacramento CA

[PT20J]

Anybody have any pireps?

Skip

[MooneyMitch]

3 minutes ago, PT20J said:

Anybody have any pireps?

Skip

Yes.  My experience 3 years ago with them...... superb!

I made an appointment with them ahead of time regarding my KFC150 not locking in.

 Upon my arrival my plane was quickly ushered into hangar and the diagnostic process began.  

Within 2 hours, the problem was discovered and repaired and I was on my way!

That’s efficiency!!

[kortopates]

At least with BK autopilots, the AP guy, whose name escapes me, is not only one of the best in the west, but one of the best in the country. He has all the BK diagnostic equipment and can do board level repairs.
Sometimes the greater challenge though is reproducing the issue on the ground with the test equipment so he can be sure of the fault and how to fix it.


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[wishboneash]

Great experience for me as well. They repaired my Century IIB AP first time and it has not failed since. Since then they did my ADS-B and JPI900 install as well. This was probably 4 or 5 years ago.

[MooneyMitch]

6 minutes ago, kortopates said:

At least with BK autopilots, the AP guy, whose name escapes me, is not only one of the best in the west, but one of the best in the country. He has all the BK diagnostic equipment and can do board level repairs.
Sometimes the greater challenge though is reproducing the issue on the ground with the test equipment so he can be sure of the fault and how to fix it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, he did indeed have all the test equipment....... isolated the issue to the tail servo unit, pulled the unit, put it on the bench, found the defective transistor (replaced all 4 if my memory serves me correctly), reinstalled, reconnected and wow!  I was highly impressed!!

Flying the plane in was a huge asset, as opposed to pulling modules and sending them out for service.

[midlifeflyer]

You might even get to meet Jerry W!

[MooneyMitch]

3 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

You might even get to meet Jerry W!

Pardon my ignorance...........is Jerry W the autopilot tech perhaps?  Thank you.

[kortopates]

8 minutes ago, MooneyMitch said:

Pardon my ignorance...........is Jerry W the autopilot tech perhaps?  Thank you.

I am not entirely sure, but I recall a David something.

[midlifeflyer]

4 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

Pardon my ignorance...........is Jerry W the autopilot tech perhaps?  Thank you.

No, he's a YouTubber (in)famous for especially bad flying in a cabin class Twin, he uses them and I think has a connection to the organization.

[RobertGary1]

I think they’re still suffering from the very bad reputation they had with the old owner among  locals. If there is anyway you can get jnto AirBorne Electronics on the same airport you’ll be a lucky guy. But Airborne books out 6+ months often. It’s the only place I take my plane. Exec autopilots gets most of their business from people who don’t want to wait for the backlog at Airborne. 
 

-Robert 

[Diesel 10]

Skip - Very good experiences.  They were helpful keeping my KFC150 alive prior to getting my GFC500.  I recall I made 2 visits in person with the plane and they quickly got the issues resolved.  My experience with a local and one other long distance shop was poor but Executive was great.  Taking the plane there was a hassle but net-net it was worthwhile.

Trevor

[Lance Link]

The AP guy is David.  Has worked on my plane twice, diagnosed problems while I waited, fixed things fast and charged what seemed like peanuts.  I recommend him unconditionally.

[M20S Driver]

20 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

Yes.  My experience 3 years ago with them...... superb!

I made an appointment with them ahead of time regarding my KFC150 not locking in.

 Upon my arrival my plane was quickly ushered into hangar and the diagnostic process began.  

Within 2 hours, the problem was discovered and repaired and I was on my way!

That’s efficiency!!

Same here.  Andre worked on my plane and fixed it very quickly at a fair price.  I highly recommend them.

[MikeOH]

I spoke with David when I was having a problem with my STEC-30 after another shop had messed it up....based on the symptom he told me there was a high chance it was just a bent pin on a connector...he was right!  Five minutes and fixed it myself.

If I have another AP problem that's where I'm taking it.

[MooneyMitch]

Executive is an extremely professional facility...... in the hangar and in the office area. 

[midlifeflyer]

15 hours ago, midlifeflyer said:

No, he's a YouTubber (in)famous for especially bad flying in a cabin class Twin, he uses them and I think has a connection to the organization.

Just realized this could be taken in the wrong way. I absolutely did not intend it to be a reflection on the quality of the shop.

[thinwing]

On 8/30/2020 at 8:58 AM, kortopates said:

I am not entirely sure, but I recall a David something.

correct...and very good at board level BK servo repairs!!

[PT20J]

Sounds like everyone's having a good experience there. Thanks for your pireps! I had an intermittent issue with my KAP 150 controller a couple of years ago. I phoned David and described the symptoms and he correctly diagnosed the problem as a bad interconnect connection between circuit boards.

Skip

[EricJ]

Hm...I've spent entirely too much money at Autopilots Central trying to keep my Century III going, which is still inop, again.  Maybe I should try these guys.

[glenn reynolds]

I have been to executive three times.  Each time it was after another shop could not solve the problem. I think they are the best auto pilot shop on the west coast.