This is where we are on the autopilot.
Dynon is totally committed to the autopilot, since it is a big part of both the current D10/D100 Series and SkyView. We haven't been able to move as quickly on the current software release (5.2) as we wish, but we will deliver it. And we will continue to release software for the D10/D100 Series after that, with much of the changes focused on the autopilot. For many existing and future customers the D10/D100 Series is a better match to their requirements than SkyView, and we will continue to support all of our products. I hope our track record has given you reason to believe in the company despite the autopilot not being perfect for everyone right out the door.
One lesson learned is that we need to be very cautious in discussing future plans. (We feel a little squeezed, since the number one question we are asked is "what new features and products are you coming out with, and when?") But with that in mind, these are the autopilots tasks we are working on:
* General autopilot performance. This is aircraft specific, and the Dynon autopilot works quite well on most aircraft. Some not so well. Based on our research this would be a pretty accurate statement for all AP's on the market, but we are working to improve the Dynon performance on all aircraft. For anyone who has an autopilot performance problem, we try to work with them, obtain data, and see if we can improve it. We are working actively with owners and OEMs to optimize performance. Frankly, our performance and feature set is often being compared to A/Ps that cost $6000, $9000 or more. We are flattered, and fully intend to work better than other autopilots even in those higher price ranges.
* There is an intermittent dropping of GPS. We do not yet have a firm handle on why, and so do not yet have a firm date for a fix.
* Does the Dynon autopilot require higher-torque servos? We are sometimes being compared to autopilot models that only do Altitude Hold, which obviously requires less torque than Altitude Capture and vertical speed changes. And in some cases we are compared to competitive installations that require a torque enhancer. It should be noted that the Dynon autopilot actually indicates servo slips graphically on the screen while TT doesn't show you at all, and in fact cannot show you given the design of their servos. So it's not surprising that people may never know or care that a TT servo is slipping in the same situation as the Dynon autopilot.
* Will the Dynon autopilot be improved with more customer settings? That is still being worked on. So until we know for sure, we cannot answer. We have tried to keep settings to a minimum by designing them out of the system. Where we find it's better to give the user an adjustment, we will. We did learn early on that even a little slop in the servo
, linkages, and cables can cause major performance differences, so more adjustments may be necessary.
* Dynon has a full-time autopilot expert, and he along with all of our development staff are working hard on both improving the autopilot and integrating it into SkyView. He is working with existing customers and installations to improve their autopilot performance, as well as designing new features. We have both customers and OEM engineers who we are working with to optimize performance. And when an existing customer has a problem, we request that they log their system data so that we can analyze their performance and help improve performance.
With all that said, we feel it is most helpful to respond to specific aircraft performance issues rather than answer generic questions. We ask, and hope, that anyone with an autopilot performance question get in touch with us directly. We actively analyze data from any customer who reports a problem and incorporate what we learn into our improvement program.
