Pappy Boyington says that he strung rubber bands about his cockpit and stick and was able to catch a few winks. If a Marine says it, you can take to the bank.
Pappy Boyington says that he strung rubber bands about his cockpit and stick and was able to catch a few winks. If a Marine says it, you can take to the bank.
I posted a comment similar to this POST on the Mooney, Beech, Piper and Cessna List(s) and had some Serious replies...But VERY FEW!!!
I recently had concern that a SERVO on my Bendix/King AP was going bad. I spoke with some of the most reputable Bendix/King AP shops in the USA ( AP Central in Tulsa and others) and began to learn- the very Popular King 100 series KAP 100..KAP 150 KFC 150 and many 200 series USE a servo Motor Built by a company in PA. That Honeywell who now owns B/K.. BUT does not support the repair of the 100 and 200 series AP's Servo Motors
The Honeywell rep indicated that his guess was that approx Ten Thousand * King AP's * of the 100 and 200 series are still in use.
Most systems use THREE servo's ...so you can see where I am going with this...
Approx 30,000 little motors or perhaps 30K airplanes should purchase a NEW DIGITAL APif this little servo critter goes SOUTH.
MY QUESTION::: HAS ANYONE REPAIRED a King SERVO MOTOR RECENTLY, WHERE AND HOW MUCH WAS THE REPAIR COST????
Please PM me at my Yahoo addy...plyons820@yahoo.com
Eh....I guess to each and to their own. From a speed standpoint, you're right. From a load standpoint or a just plain utility standpoint, not so much. An LSA is a fine "severe clear" traveling airplane but if there's any risk of less than perfect weather I wouldn't use it for long distance flying. Unlike a LSA, a 172 isn't grounded by less than ideal weather (assuming the pilot is competent and instrument rated).An LSA is just as much of a traveling airplane as a 172 is.
Unless it was designed to be aerobatic, it sounds like it wasn't designed very well then. If it's designed to be just a point A to point B aircraft, you would think that inherent stability would be a must have feature.But if yer distracted fer jes a few seconds, the plane decides to go all over the sky.
That it does. Of course, I try to avoid flying without a copilot whenever I can so that I have a spare set of hands around should I need them (not to mention that it's a source of companionship and I have yet to be able to train my parrot to handle ATC communications)Ya see; that makes it harder to keep on course when yer distracted with various things, goin X-country. It would be nice if it stayed on course while I'm looking at maps, checking frequencies of the next airport, etc.
Does that answer yer question?
Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.
"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.
Plus the fact that autopilots aren't magic. If a plane is very sensitive to the controls, then you're going to have a hard time getting the autopilot "dialed in". It's going to overcontrol just like a new pilot will, and an autopilot doesn't "learn." You'll need to do some serious adjustments to get the gearing right.Originally Posted by steveinindy
Back when I was a young 'un, I built a cruise control for my car. The car had a manual transmission, so all I really needed to do was have something hold the engine RPM no matter the load conditions. Taught me a few things about control rates, hysteresis, etc...
Ron Wanttaja
I never even thought about that. It does make a lot of sense. I certainly would not want to be the one at the controls during the autopilot test flights in an inherently unstable aircraft. That just sounds like a recipe for a rather terrifying ride.If a plane is very sensitive to the controls, then you're going to have a hard time getting the autopilot "dialed in". It's going to overcontrol just like a new pilot will, and an autopilot doesn't "learn." You'll need to do some serious adjustments to get the gearing right.
You're a man of many talents Ron. For stuff like that, I'd just go with off the shelf technology.Back when I was a young 'un, I built a cruise control for my car. The car had a manual transmission, so all I really needed to do was have something hold the engine RPM no matter the load conditions. Taught me a few things about control rates, hysteresis, etc...
Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.
"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.
Well, this was nearly 40 years ago; the shelf barely existed. :-)
I was newly-graduated as an Electrical Engineer and brand-new second lieutenant. The former made me THINK I could do it, and the latter ensured both that I was too poor to buy commercial units and also immortal (useful for the test phase).
Early on, I encountered a stuck throttle condition and Lesson Number One was learned: Put LOTS of fail-safes into critical hardware. Eventually, I could disengage cruise by (1) Tapping the brake, (2) Pressing on the clutch, (3) Slapping the control pad (on the center console...hitting it jerked a relay open), and (4) Tearing the control pad away (and, presumably, out the window) - The control pad plugged into the main controller with a power loop across the connector, and pulling it unplugged the connector and powered-down the entire system.
Never had to go higher than #1 again. Good lesson for the autopilot experimenters; Imagine what your worst-case failures would be, and work out what you'll do if they all happen right after another. Are you *sure* you can overpower the servo if it runs away? What happens if it jams the trim wheel at the same time? If you kill power, does it snap loose so quickly that you'll do an outside loop with the forward pressure you have to hold against the stuck servo?
Ron Wanttaja
I'm going to remember that for when I get to the part of my design that involves wiring. I'll probably need to pick your brain.I was newly-graduated as an Electrical Engineer
What are the most dangerous words to come out of the mouth of any officer below the rank of captain: "Follow my lead".the latter ensured both that I was too poor to buy commercial units and also immortal
I learned that from reading about the mistakes other people made because I realized I wouldn't live very long if I tried to make them all myself. LOLEarly on, I encountered a stuck throttle condition and Lesson Number One was learned: Put LOTS of fail-safes into critical hardware.
....and people on here complain that my focus on crash survivability is fatalistic. My hat is off to you Ron.Never had to go higher than #1 again. Good lesson for the autopilot experimenters; Imagine what your worst-case failures would be, and work out what you'll do if they all happen right after another. Are you *sure* you can overpower the servo if it runs away? What happens if it jams the trim wheel at the same time? If you kill power, does it snap loose so quickly that you'll do an outside loop with the forward pressure you have to hold against the stuck servo?
Oh, but I will add "and can your aircraft handle the forces involved in such a rapid reversal?"
Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.
"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.
An LSA doesn't require "severe clear" anymore than 172 being piloted by a non-instrument rated pilot.An LSA is a fine "severe clear" traveling airplane but if there's any risk of less than perfect weather I wouldn't use it for long distance flying.
I think you're over generalizing -- ideal weather grounds an LSA vs. 172? Don't think so. Now there may be marginal VFR conditions that no VFR pilot really should fly in but the weather doesn't need to be ideal and that is also not dependency on the aircraft.Unlike a LSA, a 172 isn't grounded by less than ideal weather (assuming the pilot is competent and instrument rated).
If you were trying to state that an SLSA cannot be flown in IMC, regardless of pilot rating, then you're correct (although it is expected that ASTM will publish IMC standards in the future). But this statement would not apply to an ELSA provided the ELSA is properly equipped as per the FARs.
THIS WILL PROBABLY PUT AN END TO THIS THREADI just rec'd word from the importer that no AP has been approved for the Eurofox, and none would be.
At least it's the end of my concern
It's disappointing. I have a friend with an Apollo Fox that has an autopilot. That airplane is almost exactly the same as mine, except: - It has a larger (higher) vert. Stab.
That's the problem with SLSA - it's not truly an Experimental.
@ Steve - high performance LSA's with autopilots make sense. The owner of the CTLS I trained in does serious cross country work in it and with the very long legs it has the autopilot is a godsend for him.
The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote