Dynon SkyView 3-axis autopilot now available for vintage Mooney´s

[highflyer77]

Hi folks,

 

I just got notification from a friend of mine, that Dynon has certified it´s SkyView A/P for vintage Mooneys (C,D,E,F).

 

Dynon Certified | Mooney M20 Series Autopilot System 

 

Unfortunately, the early one´s (mine is S/N 341, built in 1964) are not covered. 

So several questions come up:

1.  Can I  convert my mooney to newer pushrod´s and that way make it compatible for the dynon installation ? 

2.  Who has installed this A/P already (for example in a J) and can give a brief evaluation of it ? 

3.  Do you think that Dynon will extend certification of it´s A/P to the earlier Models (the same way as Garmin did with the GFC500) ?

 

Looking forward to your replies,

Thx,

highflyer77

 

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 10:38 AM by highflyer77

[DRH4249]

I'm glad Dynon was able to get this done even though they have been quite about it. I, for one, am happy there is another new generation, full featured, autopilot on the market that is STC'd for our vintage birds. Even a little competiton makes everyone better.

D

 

[M20E for me]

Interesting, their web site talks about capstan servos in the kit but sounds like they mount to the pushrod tubes.  I wonder if they somehow attach like the PC servos but those only pull in one direction.  I think it is a typo.

I  called them about a year ago after the received the STC for the J&K and they flat out told me that they weren’t going to get the STC for any other models.  The told me to go with either the Aerocruze 100 or Garmin…

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, M20E for me said:

Interesting, their web site talks about capstan servos in the kit but sounds like they mount to the pushrod tubes.  I wonder if they somehow attach like the PC servos but those only pull in one direction.  I think it is a typo.

King and Garmin autopilots use capstan servos and add a lot of cables and pulleys such that the capstan can drive the control rods back and forth.   It's always seemed a bit criminal to me to add such a thing to a pushrod airplane, but it is routinely done.    If the Dynon servos do similar I'd be disappointed.

The Honeywell/TruTrak autopilot and the old Century and S-Tec units all use direct mechanical connection to the pushrods, belcranks, and swing arms.

[M20E for me]

7 minutes ago, EricJ said:

King and Garmin autopilots use capstan servos and add a lot of cables and pulleys such that the capstan can drive the control rods back and forth.   It's always seemed a bit criminal to me to add such a thing to a pushrod airplane, but it is routinely done.    If the Dynon servos do similar I'd be disappointed.

The Honeywell/TruTrak autopilot and the old Century and S-Tec units all use direct mechanical connection to the pushrods, belcranks, and swing arms.

I just went through the installation instructions for the J&K and they use a push rod servo in the wing for roll and two capstan servos for pitch and yaw.  They have clamps that clamp on to the pushrods (two per rod) that the capstan servos attach to.  The clamps are for the 1.5” diameter rods which is why you can’t install on the older models with the 1” diameter rods, seems like that would be an easy adaption but more STC paper work.  The overall installation looks pretty easy.

[TNIndy]

On 2/4/2026 at 2:42 PM, M20E for me said:

Interesting, their web site talks about capstan servos in the kit but sounds like they mount to the pushrod tubes.  I wonder if they somehow attach like the PC servos but those only pull in one direction.  I think it is a typo.

I  called them about a year ago after the received the STC for the J&K and they flat out told me that they weren’t going to get the STC for any other models.  The told me to go with either the Aerocruze 100 or Garmin…

They told me the same thing when I asked about my F model. Thankfully I didn't purchase something else. My panel was cut for the Dynon because the F was originally supposed to be included in the mid body approval.