AeroCruze 100 PIREP

[Jakes Simmons]

     In short, the Aerocruze 100 at my approximate all in price of 11K was worth it. The GFC500 complete setup all in was going to be roughly 32K. I figure 70% of the performance for about a third the price. 

 

     '76 Ranger with the Aspen E5, GNC 355, MX 170C, AV30 back up, everything else close to original and analog. I purchased the autopilot a couple years ago. Initial install shop ran into the bracket issues and did not want to take it further. Wasn't able to find a shop that would install it so it sat in a box on my hangar floor for seems like two years. Through a contact here on MS, found out about an avionics shop in Oklahoma that had done a bunch of AeroCruze installs including all types of Mooney's. Super nice folks, bit of a cross country from Ohio, but at this point I just wanted it done. 

     Flew the Ranger to them right out of its annual directly. Once they went into the box, they found the previous shop HAD actually cut on the bracket but in a way that rendered it unusable. So, $500 and an email to Duncan/BK, had a new bracket on the way. I was actually surprised it only took them about a week to get it to the shop. That surprise added some time to the install and my crazy work schedule, it ended up 5 weeks from drop off to pick up. The shop told me the standard settings from BK seem to work in Mooney's, they've never had to tweak one yet. They did a really nice job at the price they promised, cleaned up some wiring, and were very communicative during the process.

    One test flight with the avionics guy, everything looked good, flew home that same day.

    I've now got a couple flights in, no long cross countries but I've done  several coupled approaches VMC including missed to a published hold. I've got a tell ya, I am kind of impressed. What is crazy is I do this for a living in "big iron" with more capable systems and it is still a barrel of fun to watch it happen in my little Mooney. The airplane did not have an a/p before.

    It does have idiosyncrasies that I was forewarned about from the avionics shop.

     When the a/p priority switch is in Aspen, the autopilot follows the Aspen's heading bug. Its 10% lazy. It will mildly overshoot then come back, eventually settling on the heading. The shop explained it has to do with the routing of info between GPS, Aspen, and A/P. When the priority switch is in GPS, it follows whatever the Garmin is doing precisely. 

     Altitude hold is okay but not stellar like I have experienced in some Garmin autopilots. The yokes have been lubed, minimal friction in the system. It doesn't do a bad job, sometimes a very mild PIO +/- 50 ft. I have flown through some mild, occasional moderate turbulence and it actually held altitude to a tighter tolerance. 

     The shop told me the folks at Duncan said you could leave the trim annunciation wiring unconnected to save on all the nuisance indications from the display head. They hooked it up and told me to accept the fact, the a/p is never going to like where you set the trim. And that's pretty much how it works. I know where my trim should be ball park, so I set it according to what I am doing and just let the AeroCruze blink "up" or "down". If you hold the yoke a/p button in, it goes into Control Wheel Steering, and that's what I use once in a while to ensure its in trim. Every once in a blue moon, the screen will be blank for a little while but rest assured it will start wanting trim again even if you've proven its fine by kicking it off and letting the airplane fly hands off.

     Coupled approaches work as advertised especially if you don't have a moron pilot like me at the controls who forgets to start trimming pitch on a go around. I let the a/p take me down on an LPV to below minimums ( all VMC), pressed the ALT button for GA, pushed in power and watched the airplane pitch up for a 500 fpm climb, then watched it pitch WAY UP as my dense brain realized I should really be working that trim wheel down and quickly. Once past idiocy, Ranger cleaned up, it climbed 500 fpm to the MAA of 2800, leveled off, flew out to the hold, beautiful tear drop entry, then proceeded to go round and round without missing a beat. I handled trim, gear, power and flaps but never touched the yoke. Really nice.

     I've pushed the "Blue" button, (level), four times after maneuvering the airplane into some unusual attitudes. Up to 60 degrees of bank, maybe 15 to 20 in pitch, no high airspeeds though. Its never failed to come on and quickly level the airplane and hold it steady. Although the trim annunciation was blinking like crazy, it never showed clutch slippage or failed to hold the airplane stable. 

     With only two buttons, one knob, and limited display size for the control head, there is button-ology to learn and not all that intuitive. I think with usage, I will get better, but it does take a couple more inputs to get different things done than I would like. 

     Its internal AHRS aligns FAST! I mean its ready to go within 5 seconds of power up. My AV30 is second, my Aspen takes longest, almost gotta sit on my hands for patience.

     My conclusion. If you have Dynon or are going Dynon and their latest a/p news, that's an easy one. Stick with Dynon. If I knew 5 years ago what I know now, I'd have gone Dynon from the get go. GFC500 would be the best all around especially if you've already gone largely Garmin and/or you own an M20J or better, the value is there even at 35k. For us vintage owners, especially the 180 horse and analog or basic glass panel folks, the AeroCruze is a hard deal to beat. I think its a huge boost to safety even for the VFR pilot. 10-15k in is still a lot of money! However when comparing our current choices for certified aircraft, I think it is worth the spend. 

     AeroValley LLC in Paul's Valley, OK did the install. Give them a shout if curious. They helped me out in transportation too. Plus Amtrak runs back and forth between Dallas and Ok City, like 11 bucks.

[Will.iam]

Thanks for the pirep on aerovalley. I was just talking to them about an avionics upgrade for my aircraft as well. Nice to know you were satisfied with their work and price. 

[mmcdaniel33]

So when was this done?  I needed to fly into PV for a cousins funeral a couple of weeks ago and their runway is closed for seemingly a while!  I was born in Paul’s Valley and looked forward to flying into it.  I’m also wanting to replace my legacy ap in my J with an AeroCruze someday.

 

i wonder what they are doing with the airport closed?

[Dwb62]

They are using the taxiway for takeoff and landing while the runway is closed for construction that’s what I was told, I’ve had my m20g there since November while getting my engine IRAN d by a rebuilder in Collinsville,OK

[Jakes Simmons]

Yup, I used the runway for landing, it closed the next day. All subsequent operations were on the taxiway. Taxiway turned out to be in better shape. 

[mmcdaniel33]

Thanks!