Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
By Cantabrigan
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846854
Shoestring Flyer wrote:An autopilot in a SportCruiser is a very useful addition to have on long journey legs. Definitely worth having despite some limitations.
Some deference must be given to the weather conditions in which the aircraft is being flown. In turbulent conditions it will be necessary to disengage the autopilot and hand fly the aircraft due to the constant servo 'slip' change taking place which if left unattended will result in shearing one of the autopilot servo drive screws.

We have one on our Sportcruiser and I usually use it in two situations: (1) in altitude-hold mode when flying close below low-level CAS, still doing the heading by hand (2) to hold heading and altitude for a short time if having a drink, getting out the landing plate etc. I don't "press a button to take me to my destination" :wink:
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By PaulSS
#1846856
....it appears that you press the autopilot button and sit back & relax whilst the cruise control takes you to you destination . Don't go to Denver.


Now I'm really confused. First of all disasters and now the suggestion that autopilot shouldn't be used to go to Denver. All my soirées to Denver have involved in-depth use of autopilot and I'm still worried about what's going to happen when I use the A/P in my light wing-loaded aeroplane. Okay, I'm not but just stirring :D

Alan, mine too is MGL. Quite a few options for coping with the lump and bumps thrown at it but quite a bit of initial fiddling as well.
By proteus
#1846860
I've a cub type with a GFC500 and far from a disaster it's been a great addition, I too like hand flying, however for long trips at bushwheel speeds it makes it a lot easier to urinate, look up plates, check weather. An IFR tourer is all well and good but if it can't land where you want to go then it's of little use.
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846879
My Foxbat has the Dynon HDX with AP and it works remarkably well, at some speeds it's necessary to keep a light rudder pressure to keep the slip ball centred (no yaw trim) and in turbulence the power has to be adjusted a fair bit to stop over or under speeding in lift and sink (it won't allow itself to go beyond dangerous limits but who wants to get close to those) but it's remarkably good at maintaining height and even on very thermic days it's always within 100ft. I do load up a routeplan from skydemon and will press the gps nav button if the mood takes me. Knowing I'm not going to inadvertently stray off course when under or alongside CAS is very comforting. Also good for picking up the camera and providing a nice stable base and generally reducing workload when on longer flights allowing more head up looking out of the window time. I can keep an aircraft straight and level .. I just generally don't feel the need to do so for an hour at a time when the aircraft is quite capable of doing it (mostly) automatically. I can sit back and enjoy the flying experience ... YMMV.
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By PeteM
#1846893
I owned a CH601xl - which is the forerunner to the Sportcruiser. I had a single axis Navid and on those long trips down through France etc it really was an excellent device.

In very turbulent weather it struggled - but then so did I! That will always be the case with lowish wing loadings.

But the doom and gloom brigade really need to have a think - never use the cruise control on your cars? Never had one of those occasions when you cannot find that blasted thing out of your flight bag? Never had trouble finding that VRP or other item on the chart or moving map? Must be sky gods!
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By Big Dex
#1846898
I have an autopilot in my Europa; it makes regular long distance cruising far less tiring. I enjoy chucking it around as much as anyone, and that's easily achieved by simply not engaging the AP. When flying direct from Manchester to central France, I'm less enthusiastic about hand-flying a largely straight and level route for 3+ hours when the AP will hold a more accurate course and height and leave me with a much lower workload to look out for fast black triangles, monitor the systems and the pre-programmed route etc. What's not to like?
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By WingedSupra
#1846905
PeteM wrote:I owned a CH601xl - which is the forerunner to the Sportcruiser.


Not relevant to the thread, I know, but are these aircraft really related? The CH601 is a Zenair, the model before the CH650, and the sportcruiser is CZAW. They do look very similar though, so I wonder if it is a shared design?
By Sparks
#1846918
Thanks for all the replies and for those wondering why I want an autopilot in a Sportcruiser the simple answer is workload reduction which equates to safety during busy times ie obtaining / writing down the ATIS, flying around busy airspace and especially on long trips where wx or ATC etc can necessitate changes to the flight plan.
I love hand flying the Sportcruiser, especially in and out of short grass strips but many years of commercial flying has shown me the advantages and safety an autopilot can bring.
Iceman, russp, T67M liked this
By Dave Johnson
#1846921
Regarding the relationship between CH601 and Sportcruiser.

CZAW were the european agents for Zenith and built the kits, with modifications for the european market ( I bought my CH601 kit from them) They then fell out with Zenith, lost the agency, then started producing the 'Sportcruiser', which has a lot of components and design features of the CH601XL

Dave
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By WingedSupra
#1846925
Dave Johnson wrote:CZAW were the european agents for Zenith and built the kits, with modifications for the european market ( I bought my CH601 kit from them)


Interesting, thank you for the info!
By patowalker
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846979
Dave Johnson wrote:Regarding the relationship between CH601 and Sportcruiser.

CZAW were the european agents for Zenith and built the kits, with modifications for the european market ( I bought my CH601 kit from them) They then fell out with Zenith, lost the agency, then started producing the 'Sportcruiser', which has a lot of components and design features of the CH601XL

Dave


Ah, CZAW, Stare Mesto, CH601UL, Chip Irwin, Kumovice, SportCruiser. Happy days!

Milan Bristela was CZAW's chief engineer, he added flaps, wing tanks and a front opening canopy to the original CH601 design. Milan had previously worked at Evektor on the Eurostar. Before the SportCruiser, he developed the Parrot, I saw the prototype, literally under wraps, when I visitef the factory prior to getting my CH601UL kit. Had a test flight in one when the temperature was minus 10C. I found the flap lever too much of a stretch, so Milan put a crank into mine. Just look how far he has come since then. :) https://www.bristell.com/
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By grahamgrg
#1847181
Another thumbs-up for AP in a SportCruiser.

Installed the MGL iEFIS & Autopilot 3 years ago and use it on most flights - as others have said it's a great aid when close to Airspace, re-tuning radio/transponder or 3-4hr legs on long trips.

The MGL AP does take some tuning and is not quite as smooth as Garmin/Dynon etc - but then it is a small fraction of the price so you can afford to fly more :D
By Ibra
#1847205
Piper Sport has 5h30 endurance, I think that deserves an AutoPilot but it will not make one feel better unless air is smooth due to low wing load

I wish Garmin will have the next GFC900 with two optional extra buttons TERM or WAVE modes for gliders, RIDGE mode will be illegal aa it happens bellow 800ft agl :D


proteus wrote:I've a cub type with a GFC500 and far from a disaster it's been a great addition, I too like hand flying, however for long trips at bushwheel speeds it makes it a lot easier to urinate, look up plates, check weather. An IFR tourer is all well and good but if it can't land where you want to go then it's of little use.


C180 or C185 or Maule then?

Cub is not IFR on TC but they can go on IFR permits in US (one can get an equivalent CAA PtF but not LAA PtF), no GFC500 yet just the old way of hand flying

A friend of mine shared a picture of her IFR Super Cub, sadly in US she can't fly it IFR all the way to uncontrolled grass strips (unlike in UK where we can fly Skyhawk, Cherokee, Arrow or Skylane in clouds from/to grass strips on own clearance)

Image