Autopilot

[swartley]

Any chance that Dynon is working on an autopilot?

Gregg

 

[dynonsupport]

There's always a chance! We don't have anything to announce at the present time, though.

 

[Thomas_Schaad]

I am now speaking very general and generic

Could it be possible that if maybe one day Dynon launches an autopilot that this may also work with other digital servos as for example the TruTrak's and Trio's ?

This might be a big gain and give some folks as me a chance for an easy change but will also make planning of future enhancements in the panel simpler. Thanks a lot and

Kind regards

Thomas

 

[lucaberta]

If I can add my 2 europennies...

I think that Dynon made a very wise decision in setting up a bus like DSAB so that different Dynon devices can talk to each other nicely.

Now, there are a bunch of APs out there on the market, and they have established a nice and tested product line over the years. It could be quite difficult to enter a brand-new market for Dynon with a new AP that would only work with Dynon servos, so I second Thomas' suggestion of being able to use TT of TA servos.

But, think about this. Would you not hate losing your primary Dynon unit for whatever reason, and for the fact that the AP is linked to the Dynon smarts, also lose the AP?

How about a DSAB-enabled AP head that would talk to the main Dynon box and drive the servos, and in case of loss of primary Dynon unit would still be able to fly a GPS track and to keep wings level and, ideally, also maintain an altitude? Such a device might have a knob, a couple of buttons and leds and a display, and that's it.

Another possibility would be to work with TT and/or TA and give them access to DSAB, so that their devices might be linked to the Dynons. Feeding the GPS data to different boxes is not that hard (we already do it today), and I am sure that DSAB could even be extended to enable fly-by waypoints instead of just fly-over like all NMEA APs do today.

Food for thought...

Ciao, Luca

 

[Thomas_Schaad]

I am sure that DSAB could even be extended to enable fly-by waypoints instead of just fly-over like all NMEA APs do today.

Luca, don't worry to much about this: I replaced an S-TEC 20 incl. GPSS by an Trio EZ-Pilot. I discussed the subject priorly extensively with a very expirienced Avionics Engineer. His concerns were yours, as the S-TEC GPSS is ARINC 429 driven, while the EZ-Pilot goes RS 232. Finally he said "it's worth a try" so I ordered the EZ-pilot.

I am flying the "RS 232" EZ-Pilot now for exactly a year and I couldn't be happier with. It's a great device and a wonderful addition to the Dynon's. It does the turn anticipation as the GPSS did it, but tracks much more accurate and flies the aircraft simply smoother and more precise. So if eventually the Trio Servos could be controlled via the Dynon as you suggested as well, this would be heaven ;-)

Kind regards

Thomas

 

[N1GB]

If there is a chance, we would really like to know because most of us "Dynon" users would rather hold off for it rather than install another brand..

Phil

 

[dynonsupport]

It's basically an open secret that we're working on autopilots. It's unlikely that our products will support autopilots/servos from other manufacturers.

At this point, no further information is available. We'll get more talkative as we get closer to having a product though ;-)

 

[JR]

If (when) the autopilot "flies" how do you expect it to be packaged? HS34 style?
Im cutting and rebuilding my panel to fit new D180 and want to leave room for it.
Looking for testers?
Help appreciated
JR

 

[dynonsupport]

We're not at the point where we have specific mechanical details available.