What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Prefered 6A Auto Pilot

MWH265

Well Known Member
Hi All,

I have recently purchased a 6A. It does not have an auto pilot and I would like to install one. What does everyone recommend for an AP to be installed in a flying aircraft. I have been looking at the Trutrak Gemini.

Thanks,
Mike
 
Hi Mike,

Congratulations on your new -6!

You will not receive a consensus on "which autopilot to buy". This is like asking "Which car should I buy?" :)

Fortunately, all the digital autopilots on the market today (Tru-Trak, Trio, Dynon, etc) work very nicely, it is a mature technology. It is just a matter of selecting the features you want and how you want it to integrate with the other devices in your present or future panel.

Enjoy your new autopilot!
 
Thanks for the good word Sam. I guess I am more looking for what A/P is the easiest to install in an aircraft already flying. I'm not sure of the best locations of the servos.
 
Thanks for the good word Sam. I guess I am more looking for what A/P is the easiest to install in an aircraft already flying. I'm not sure of the best locations of the servos.

I don't think there will be a significant difference in difficulty of installation between the various autopilots. It is a job anyone with experience working on aircraft can accomplish without much stress, just takes some time. I have found running the wiring harnesses through a completed airframe is sometimes the most challenging part of the installation. All the major autopilot vendors will have servo mounting kits for the RV-6A.

But I suggest putting much higher priority on how the autopilot integrates with your mission and panel than ease of installation. The installation occurs once, living with the autopilot occurs every flight. :)
 
Last edited:
I put a trio pro pilot in my 6A about two years ago. Takes about a day to install, not difficult just a lot of panels and covers to open and wires to run. Average skill set required, nothing heavy duty involved in my opinion and I am not a builder. The a/p units are all about the same, buy the wiring harness and mounting brackets and start having some fun! Remember it's fun.
 
As has been said, pick the Auto Pilot by the features and don't worry about the installation.

When I bought my plane it had a Navaid Devices wing leveler and an S-TEC altitude hold. Both worked fine. They worked fine but i soon replaced them by getting the Dynon servos and AP74 so now it's all integrated in the EFIS.

Both servos in the 6A are fairly easy to access.

I think I have the removed parts sitting on a shelf somewhere.
 
I could be wrong but if your 6 has an analog panel your choices are limited. TT seemed to be the most popular over the years and from experience they just work. The roll servo will most likely be installed inside the cockpit and the pitch near the rear bell crank. The Gemini seems very popular and have not heard any complaints about TT.
Not sure why but it seems like everyone I know with a trio in an RV has to send them back in over and over because the roll gain cannot be set to stop wing rock??
Recommend you talk to your local RV6rs and see what they have and are happy with.
 
And just for another point of view, I had the Blue Mountain autopilot along with my system. It worked great, but I only ever used it during the condition inspection to verify that it still worked. Now that I'm about to update my panel, I have removed the old autopilot and there won't be a new one. There will be one (Sorcerer) in my -10, which has a different mission, but the -6A is just too much fun to fly by hand to want to let a machine do it.
 
Not sure why but it seems like everyone I know with a trio in an RV has to send them back in over and over because the roll gain cannot be set to stop wing rock??

I have been flying Trio autopilots since before they were released to the market and your experience has not been what we have seen locally with several devices in service. Just another datapoint.

Another option for the roll servo is to install it in a wingtip. Either method works, just depends on which is more convenient for a particular aircraft.
 
Last edited:
A/P for 6A

I am in the same situation as Mike! Congratulations Mike for your new RV-6A!

I purchased a 6A project. It has never flown. It had nice instrument panel however I wanted to modernize it so I pulled everything out. I have TT A/P and if possible please share some photos of your servo installations. I like to specifically photos that how you have installed A/P and trim servos.
 
Trio

I have a Trio autopilot in my RV-6, and the gains are all easily set by the user, and can be set inflight. I recently encountered some pretty heavy turbulence, and the autopilot was "over-reacting" a bit. I was able to easily adjust the gains inflight, and the autopilot handled the turbulence extremely well after that.

My aileron servo is installed in the wingtip, using the Trio mount. Very easy, just remove the wing tip and install.

Great support from the company, as well.

As Sam said, just another data point.
 
Hi All,

I have recently purchased a 6A. It does not have an auto pilot and I would like to install one. What does everyone recommend for an AP to be installed in a flying aircraft. I have been looking at the Trutrak Gemini.

Thanks,
Mike

I've had a TT autopilot for about 10 years in a fairly basic RV-6. I've been very pleased with it and would buy a Gemini if I was in the market for a replacement.

As far as servo locations go, the easiest roll servo installation may be under the seat pans, and (I think) all of the pitch servos use basically the same installation near the bellcrank just behind the baggage compartment.
 
Give me a call tonight or tomorrow and I can talk to you about the options, costs and features hat would work best for your mission and existing panel.
 
Rv-6 autopilot

I have a mgl iefis lite in my rv-6 with mgl's digital servos and I love it. MGL is very good. My son also has a RV-10 with the MGL Voyager and his autopilot is great too.
 
I had the Trio (non-pro model) with a Nav Aid servo in the wing when I bought my RV6. It worked well. At one point I decided that the servo was getting a little tired. I sent the Nav Aid servo into Trio and they re-freshed it for me (very low dollars charged). The system worked great and I was very happy with it, and the service received. I now have the TruTrak 385 Vizion. I am very happy with it also. If the Trio Pro would have been in a smaller package (2 1/4" instrument, like the TT) I would have likely stayed with the Trio.

The Trio also has a digital Standard Rate Turn display (the TT does not), works but it is not fast enough acting for me to fly it well under the hood using it a primary instrument. If the Standard Rate Turn display is of major interest to you I would suggest that you demo that feature.
 
These are my opinions:
Servos: TruTrak is physically in the loop all the time; control feel is not affected. TT uses a shear pin in case of a jam.
Trio uses a clutch to physically disconnect from the control loop. If clutch fails in a jam, there is a stripable gear.
TT control head is physically smaller, if panel space is a concern.
Trio control head is larger, allowing more controls, less multiplexing, imho easier to use.
If you have electric trim, Trio can automatically keep plane in trim thru speed changes. It can also run the trim in a manual mode, with the trim running faster with low airspeed, slower at high airspeeds.
I chose the Trio but they're both good autopilots.
 
If you already have a dynon in the plane...

If you already have a dynon in the plane it is the natural way to go and the install would be pretty easy. They use a shear pin.
If you even think you might go in the direction of a nice glass panel with Dynon, you could put in a used D10A and then upgrade later to the Skyview and still use the same servos. Their customer service is very good.

That being said, if you don't currently have a dynon product now, True Track is mature and very well liked and the support is outstanding. The owner is very involved and commited to the experimental... and now the certified world.
 
Back
Top