Many pilots are not aware that when there is a change from GPS course guidance to VLOC, the autopilot will continue to fly the digital output signal coming from the navigator. The pilot can go to “preferences” and change this feature, but most units I see have this feature enabled.
There is a feature on the world’s most popular navigator, the Garmin 430/530, to switch automatically from GPS to VOR/Localizer (VLOC) mode once established inbound on a non-GPS approach.
#Stec 50 autopilot pitch problems full#
It is my recommendation when flying an approach, especially a full approach with a course reversal, to let the GPSS feature get you established inbound and then manually make the switch to NAV or APP mode, depending on the autopilot. The first issue of pilot error, and the most common problem, is not switching from GPSS mode to approach mode soon enough (call it buttonology). Number three, a true “autopilot problem” or “bad installation” or “set up” by the avionics shop. If I were to try to list the issues in order of occurrence of mis-coupled approaches, they would be as follows: Why am I so insistent that we be able to hand-fly approaches as these sophisticated autopilots rarely fail? The answer is, there are safety features built into autopilots to intentionally keep them from flying an improperly established approach or capturing a false glideslope.
#Stec 50 autopilot pitch problems install#
When I made the decision to install a new autopilot in my aircraft more than 10 years ago, I had the option of going with a more sophisticated autopilot, but declined because it would cause me to become lazy and lose my proficiency in hand flying approaches.Īsk yourself this question: If I lost my autopilot in hard instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), could I safely fly an approach to minimums? If you answer “No” to that question, go and see your local certified instrument flight instructor (CFII), or come and see me and get proficient again. I hand fly all of my transitions and approaches. Once I have established my aircraft on a VOR radial or GPS course, the autopilot will track it but nothing more. It will not descend or climb with altitude preselect or intercept and fly a radial or glideslope or create a top of descent profile (TOD). The autopilot in my Bonanza is an S-Tec 50, and it does just that and does it well. One way to do that would be to make a heading and altitude hold autopilot only, but pilots and aircraft owners ask for much more. The manufacturers of autopilots have the responsibility to provide as many fail-safe features as they can in order to avoid crashing the airplane. Over the years, which I have been giving instrument and proficiency training, about one out of four pilots complain or have a comment on their autopilot. I would like to mention that Greg Gorak was one of my instructors and mentors in the late 1960s, and I consider him one of the top aviation educators of our time. I have been in similar conditions myself, and my lack of being assertive with ATC almost ended in disaster. That plan may be a climb to VFR conditions on top or a descent to a lower altitude, if the air is warmer below as per Greg’s article. Without repeating myself like a defective vinyl record, I need to say that if you should get into icing conditions of any magnitude, report it to air traffic control (ATC) without delay, and have a plan to get out of it ASAP. Also in this issue, I will touch on the new Avidyne IFD-540 GPS navigator based on some recent flights, and do a full review in a future issue of Midwest Flyer Magazine. In this issue, I will cover “autopilot glitches, failures and anomalies”– what to do in each case and why some of those things happen. It was unfortunate that Wisconsin got to see another fatal GA icing accident since that publication. In my previous column, I again addressed the issue of “icing,” as did Greg Gorak in his excellent article.
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