Slight left lean in attitude display?

[Scott]

I've been flying with my D-10A for a couple years now and never saw this.

Yesterday i noticed the Dynon Attitude display showed a slight left lean, about 5 degrees. MY mechanical gyro showed level as did the horizon.

The EFIS is hooked up to a a remote compass, an EMS D-10 and a Garmin GNC 300XL

I'm going to reseat all the connectors and fly again but thought I'd ask if this has been seen before?  :-/

Scott

 

[Dynon]

Could be one of a couple of things. First, what is turn rate doing? Is it displaying any turn rate when you're straight and level?

 

[willymac]

I'm seeing the same thing with my Dynon 10A, but it's more like 15 degrees after an aerobatic flight, and I have no confidence in the pitch info either. I haven't updated it for several years. Would that be the first thing to do?
Bill
RV-4
Alabama

 

[Dynon]

If pitot/static is connected and looks correct, then, after you've finished your aerobatics (plus a few minutes in some cases), your attitude should be correct. If it's not, then, the first question is, what does turn rate (the purple bar) look like in normal straight and level flight? Is it not centered?

 

[willymac]

I checked the turn rate bar yesterday on the ground, and it's indicating about 1/2 of a standard rate turn to the right and the roll and pitch are close to level now.
Also tried to down load the update, but my virus protector wouldn't accept it.
Thanks in advance,
Bill

 

[Dynon]

So there aren't any viruses in our software, we promise . There's usually a way to temporarily disable virus software, often in the system tray (lower right hand corner). Unless your software is INCREDIBLY old, though (what version is it? It's under the SETUP > VRSION menu), it's unlikely that a software update will change anything.

Now, the sensors inside the EFIS do have the ability to self-calibrate over time. At times, particularly if you're doing a lot of aerobatic flight, and not a lot of normal flight, it can self-calibrate in a way where it belives straight and level / zero turn rate is not exactly where it should be. Some "normal" flight should clear this up - within an hour for sure. If it doesn't, a trip back here, when convenient for you, may be neccesary to see if there's an issue with any of the internal sensors. But first, go do some non-aero flying. The more straight-and-level, the better.

 

[willymac]

Thanks for the quick response. I don't think I can stand flying straight and level more than 10 minutes. It's the start of a new IAC season, which means spins and rolls that scramble the Dynon temporarily. Can I just turn the Dynon on with the airframe level and let it self calibrate? I'm a computer idiot so will have one of my young friends from work figure out how to down load the updates.
Bill McLean
RV-4
Alabama

 

[Dynon]

No - unfortunately - because of the way the math works, the aircraft needs to be in flight for it to work out that self-calibration. I believe we can send you a file that will take that value back to factory defaults, but, if your unit has learned some correct calibration (and some bad), it may or may not effectively improve things. Give our tech support a call at 425-402-0433 or email at support at dynonavionics dot com (send a link to this thread) and they can help you out.

 

[willymac]

I sent the Dynon 10A unit in, as recommended, and wanted to thank Dynon for a super quick response, repair, and return. I flew with my Dynon 10A today, and every thing seems to be working fine except the headings are off about 10 degrees. I'll recalibrate tomorrow on a compass rose. Before I started acro practice, I turned the Dynon OFF since I knew I would be exceeding the roll rates especially with spins. I was surprised after the practice when I turned the Dynon back on during straight and level flight, it showed the "recalculating mode" and took about 15 seconds for it return to normal. It would be nice to have an "acro mode" where pitch and roll are disabled. I use the other information during acro such as airspeed, altitude, heading, trim ball, and G meter. I also have the analog devices too. By the way, the trim ball does work well inverted.
Bill