What's new
Van's Air Force

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

Honeywell To Acquire TruTrak Flight Systems (July 2019 Announcement)

AndyRV7

Well Known Member
Honeywell To Acquire TruTrak Flight Systems-- Enables Honeywell access to experimental, light-sport market, which has grown by double digits over the past five years-- Expands Honeywell's autopilot software offerings through its BendixKing business, providing affordable and reliable flight control systems
PR Newswire
OSHKOSH, Wis., July 24, 2019
OSHKOSH, Wis., July 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has acquired privately held TruTrak Flight Systems, a leader in autopilots for experimental, light-sport and certified aircraft. The acquisition will become part of Honeywell's BendixKing business, helping to deliver affordable technologies to the experimental and general aviation markets. This market has grown by double digits over the past five years.
"TruTrak is a natural fit with BendixKing, and this acquisition opens up an exciting new market to us," said Carl Esposito, president, Electronic Systems at Honeywell Aerospace. "It provides great technology at affordable prices, which is central to BendixKing's business. Furthermore, adding TruTrak to the BendixKing family will attract new talent, foster collaboration and help us identify new ways to bring value to our customers."
As part of the acquisition, TruTrak's chief executive officer and owner, Andrew Barker, will join the BendixKing executive team and will continue to drive the successful adoption of TruTrak's autopilots in the experimental and certified aircraft markets. BendixKing will also add TruTrak's engineers to its staff to maintain the integrity of the technology and the affordability for which TruTrak's products are known.
"Honeywell and BendixKing's capabilities in the aerospace industry will accelerate the continued development of the products TruTrak has built from the ground up," said Barker. "Their vision for autopilots aligns with ours, and personally I am very excited to join the BendixKing team and use the extensive resources now available to us to continue forging the future of autopilots."
Since its founding in 1999, TruTrak has sold well over 15,000 autopilots and continues to introduce new products and features to improve autopilot technology, improve safety features, and add new capabilities. TruTrak's autopilot systems can fly a wide range of aircraft and fly well in turbulence. They are also easy to install, maintain and use.
Terms were not disclosed and there is no change to the company's 2019 outlook as a result of the acquisition.
About Honeywell
Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft. The Aerospace business unit builds aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity systems, mechanical components and more. Its hardware and software solutions create more fuel-efficient aircraft, more direct and on-time flights and safer skies and airports. For more information, visit*www.honeywell.com*or follow us at @Honeywell_Aero.
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable.* For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit*www.honeywell.com/newsroom.
 
Wow.

I certainly don't have any optimism about that product line anymore. I believe they bought it to kill it. Sad to see, and hope I'm wrong.
 
Wow.

I certainly don't have any optimism about that product line anymore. I believe they bought it to kill it. Sad to see, and hope I'm wrong.
It's BendixKing. They don't need to actually intend to kill it to make it happen.
 
My Sentiments Exactly!!!

Wow.

I certainly don't have any optimism about that product line anymore. I believe they bought it to kill it. Sad to see, and hope I'm wrong.

?. This really pi##es me off as well, and now we have lost all optimism as well.
We have purchased several of their products (autopilots), and I know for a fact
we have sold by recommendation many many others to our customers. We have
seen this time after time in our other business with Garrett and Honeywell. It
looks like another one is going to bite the dust. Allan,:(:(
 
Huh?

Wow.

I certainly don't have any optimism about that product line anymore. I believe they bought it to kill it. Sad to see, and hope I'm wrong.

I don't know why Honeywell would buy TT to "kill it". They currently do not compete for the same market segments, unless they're worried about TruTrak competing with their recently certified "AeroCruze" autopilot.

My guess is that Honeywell wants an "experimental" class autopilot to marry with an experimental version of their new "low cost" certified EFIS products so they can attempt to build market share in the active experimental aircraft segment. Of course, I'm skeptical that a very large Aerospace company can maintain market agility and cost competitiveness necessary to compete in the EAB market.

Skylor
 
Well, Just an Observation

Let's see......Dynon acquires Advanced Flight Systems. Honeywell acquires TruTrak...and Mattituck is closed. I hope someone gets into the label making business so I can update my equipment...... It now appears I'm flying an RV from the Twilight Zone......!!!
 
I know it can be frustrating for customers, but this is the flip side of us getting early and cheap access to great new things. Eventually the best stuff gets recognized, and the people who develop it rightfully have the opportunity to cash in on their efforts, which they certainly deserve.

Of course you can pony up for Garmin and not have to worry about them being bought (probably), but even then, continued Garmin product support has not generally proven to be cheap, even if it is readily available. To be fair, I have seen and heard pretty good things from their experimental division - but a big company can still only be so nimble.

No free lunch, I guess. The upside is, there will always be new innovative things coming down the line from the next start-up, and the cycle will continue.

Chris
 
The Trutrak Vizion is on sale at ACS for $2,050. I wonder what it will cost when Honeywell takes over...
 
In my career as an M&A hound, I found that the best reason to purchase a smaller company was for talent & Intellectual Property (IP).

All of the other reasons (market share, time-to-market, revenue enhancement, filling product gaps, etc.) were contributing factors, but in the end the talent and IP was the long-term benefit. I think Honeywell has done well in this regard.

Integrating the two companies will be a challenge, however. I found that swapping personnel between locations really helps develop personal and professional relationships and puts in place on-site champions/problem solvers/political consultants in both locations.

More competition in our community will be a good thing, but the big prize will be next-gen electric (incl. VTOL) aircraft.

V
 
In my career as an M&A hound, I found that the best reason to purchase a smaller company was for talent & Intellectual Property (IP).

All of the other reasons (market share, time-to-market, revenue enhancement, filling product gaps, etc.) were contributing factors, but in the end the talent and IP was the long-term benefit. I think Honeywell has done well in this regard.

Integrating the two companies will be a challenge, however. I found that swapping personnel between locations really helps develop personal and professional relationships and puts in place on-site champions/problem solvers/political consultants in both locations.

More competition in our community will be a good thing, but the big prize will be next-gen electric (incl. VTOL) aircraft.

V

I've seen this many times as rationale for acquisitions but often the culture clash and big-company general bureaucracy kill the morale of the talent who leave as soon as they can....
 
I've seen this many times as rationale for acquisitions but often the culture clash and big-company general bureaucracy kill the morale of the talent who leave as soon as they can....

Sadly, that's all too common. That's why it matters how the integration is handled. I have many examples, but this is the wrong place to discuss M&A. Back to driving (or pulling) rivets!
 
This affects a lot of people now and in the future. This is in the RV General Forum and is the right place to discuss.
 
This is consistent with TT's total lack of support with my recent tech query.

Hopefully Honeywell issues a statement of ongoing support soon.
 
Last edited:
Wait a second, I'm still here!

Now now now...I'm still here.

I know that you are all concerned about what this means for the future of TruTrak / pricing / your products, and those are valid concerns. I have been part of this industry for 20 years, and I was a kid paying attention to it for at least 10 before that. I want you all to know that I remain VERY committed to supporting the experimental (and certified) markets. We know that this market is very price conscious and don't expect you to pay $$$$$ for a $$$$ product. I also know that TruTrak has a good reputation for support (yes, we are slower now than we used to be, due to growth issues. but we are working to better that.)

I will personally still be at EVERY show I possibly can, and that doesn't mean just SnF and Osh.

We will be training BendixKing staff and taking a big bunch of our staff over as well. We are wanting to improve our support and ability to develop great products at a great price!

Now, I know that many of you are skeptical of this, but I do ask that you give me (us) a chance to show you that we are here to earn your business and continue to provide you with great products.

Stay tuned, I am looking forward to this next adventure!
 
Last edited:
Now now now...I'm still here.

I know that you are all concerned about what this means for the future of TruTrak / pricing / your products, and those are valid concerns. I have been part of this industry for 20 years, and I was a kid paying attention to it for at least 10 before that. I want you all to know that I remain VERY committed to supporting the experimental (and certified) markets. We know that this market is very price conscious and don't expect you to pay $$$$$ for a $$$$ product. I also know that TruTrak has a good reputation for support (yes, we are slower now than we used to be, due to growth issues. but we are working to better that.)

I will personally still be at EVERY show I possibly can, and that doesn't mean just SnF and Osh.

We will be training BendixKing staff and taking a big bunch of our staff over as well. We are wanting to improve our support and ability to develop great products at a great price!

Now, I know that many of you are skeptical of this, but I do ask that you give me (us) a chance to show you that we are here to earn your business and continue to provide you with great products.

Stay tuned, I am going to

Great, maybe I can finally get the issues with Sorcerer resolved!

-Marc
 
Come see us!

Marc,

If you are at Osh, come see us! We would be very happy to help you out. If you aren?t here, give us a couple days next week to get back home and situated and give us a call. We are happy to give you a hand.

I apologize for falling down on the support front in recent months. We have added staff, but not all are up to speed yet.
 
Thanks!

Thanks Andrew, I'll call next week and hopefully be able to resolve my issues.

-Marc
 
Too long

Honestly, with some of the personnel transitions we have been through, VAF hasn?t been getting the attention it should. No ones fault but my own. I?ll be better about that.

Thanks,
 
Congratulations on the sale, Andrew. As a loyal TruTrak customer I can only hope this transaction bodes well for your prior customers. It's truly unfortunate that Bendix-King under Honeywell's corporate guidance has such a terrible track record in the GA world.

Given that B-K has been ditching dealers left right and center, what's the marketing plan for TT products moving forward? Is it still going to be a direct sales model? Will we still be able to buy directly from TT and the pre-existing TT dealer network? Or will we be forced to go through the B-K "certified" avionics dealers that are withering on the vine like grapes in a drought?

After spending too long trying to get B-K to respond to these questions on other newly-acquired product lines I had pretty much given up B-K for lost. I hope TruTrak becomes the tail that wags the very tired B-K dog back to life.
 
I hope TruTrak becomes the tail that wags the very tired B-K dog back to life.
Amen to that! But that will be a tough row to hoe!

I just wonder how long the TruTrak team will tolerate the "You're Bendix-King now, this is how it will be done!" line.

George
Happy TT owner/user
 
Customer Support

Hey Andrew,
Look forward to talking when you get back in the shop. I called this morning for an update on an offer made on trading my Gemini PFD in on a full auto pilot system but nobody is in the shop till Wednesday they said. I hope you had a fun Oshkosh and I?m sure you were besieged with inquires about what changes are in store. I?m hoping I can still deal with the old team for a little while longer. Talk to you Wednesday and feel free to PM me as well.
 
I want you all to know that I remain VERY committed to supporting the experimental (and certified) markets. We know that this market is very price conscious and don't expect you to pay $$$$$ for a $$$$ product. I also know that TruTrak has a good reputation for support (yes, we are slower now than we used to be, due to growth issues. but we are working to better that.)

Okay, some feedback from a customer which speaks to that.

We've been waiting for software for the Vizion to do Garmin G5 integration for ... quite a while. TruTrak first suggested that it was in play more than a year ago, some of us were expecting some more info about it at OSH'18.

At OSH'19, the word is that it's now with the FAA waiting for approval, which could take three to six months. If that's accurate, then the time elapsed from initial announcement of the feature to its actual delivery will be almost two years, which seems a lot like the lead-time on certified products which E/AB folks thought we were avoiding!

The Experimental market doesn't need FAA approval for any aspect whatsoever of an autopilot. It's unclear why the FAA would be presented as something on the critical path at an EXPERIMENTAL Aircraft Association convention. Hearing that from your booth last week was very jarring, it wasn't great messaging in the context of where it was being delivered and the kind of people it was being delivered to.

I have noticed a change from TruTrak since the autopilot STC was made available: It's very clear that you're prioritizing the certified market now. That's perhaps not surprising, given that you can sell essentially the same product into that market at twice the price, which probably increases your gross profit percentage by several hundred per cent. Hard to criticize you for doing that.

But you're also expressing an intention to be true to your roots, so to speak: "VERY committed to supporting the experimental market." In that spirit, can you tell us when Garmin G5 integration will be made available for non-STC'ed Vizion 385 autopilot systems on a timeframe that doesn't depend on the FAA, just like all your products were produced two years ago?

(A GMC 307 with a couple of Garmin servos isn't that much different cost-wise and functionality-wise from a Vizion 385, except that the integration problem is already solved to the extent that the G5 can be used as a full-on flight director; And it's been available as a package for almost as long as the G5 has been on the market. You have a competitor in your patch, but from this distance it feels like you've been playing dead? Should your customers who have subsequently installed G5's sell their TruTrak systems on the second hand market and buy Garmin?)

- mark
 
I love my trutrack and no one will pry my new vizion 385 autopilot out of my rv6 until one of its components dies. As soon as it does, it will be a full garmin retrofit. Bendix/king has a horrible track record with GA and none with experimental aircraft. I have no faith in the fact they will continue to support and sell direct to the little guy for self installation.
 
Congratulations on the sale, Andrew. As a loyal TruTrak customer I can only hope this transaction bodes well for your prior customers. It's truly unfortunate that Bendix-King under Honeywell's corporate guidance has such a terrible track record in the GA world.

Given that B-K has been ditching dealers left right and center, what's the marketing plan for TT products moving forward? Is it still going to be a direct sales model? Will we still be able to buy directly from TT and the pre-existing TT dealer network? Or will we be forced to go through the B-K "certified" avionics dealers that are withering on the vine like grapes in a drought?

After spending too long trying to get B-K to respond to these questions on other newly-acquired product lines I had pretty much given up B-K for lost. I hope TruTrak becomes the tail that wags the very tired B-K dog back to life.

We are still working out the exact details of how everything plays out, but BK knows the customer base is frustrated with the inability to easily get ahold of equipment and support. That?s one of the areas where we will be working very hard.
I know this isn?t an answer, but I haven?t even met the entire team yet. Know that I share your concern and will be working hard to make sure that you can still get what you need, and get it at a good price.

All TruTrak dealers are still TruTrak dealers!
 
I love my trutrack and no one will pry my new vizion 385 autopilot out of my rv6 until one of its components dies. As soon as it does, it will be a full garmin retrofit. Bendix/king has a horrible track record with GA and none with experimental aircraft. I have no faith in the fact they will continue to support and sell direct to the little guy for self installation.

I can live with that...for now. When you do need something else, I?ll be hoping that I have convinced you to give another avionics manufacturer another shot.
 
Hey Andrew,
Look forward to talking when you get back in the shop. I called this morning for an update on an offer made on trading my Gemini PFD in on a full auto pilot system but nobody is in the shop till Wednesday they said. I hope you had a fun Oshkosh and I?m sure you were besieged with inquires about what changes are in store. I?m hoping I can still deal with the old team for a little while longer. Talk to you Wednesday and feel free to PM me as well.

Yeah, even after a ?normal? Oshkosh it?s crazy. My team has worked really hard and they surely deserve a little break. We will still take care of you on your upgrade...at the same price we would have two weeks ago. Stephen was out today, but was working remote to try and get through the backlog of customer emails.

If you can?t get him tomorrow, tell the front office I said to put you through to me or give you my cell number. Im busy, but not too busy to help.
 
Okay, some feedback from a customer which speaks to that.

We've been waiting for software for the Vizion to do Garmin G5 integration for ... quite a while. TruTrak first suggested that it was in play more than a year ago, some of us were expecting some more info about it at OSH'18.

At OSH'19, the word is that it's now with the FAA waiting for approval, which could take three to six months. If that's accurate, then the time elapsed from initial announcement of the feature to its actual delivery will be almost two years, which seems a lot like the lead-time on certified products which E/AB folks thought we were avoiding!

The Experimental market doesn't need FAA approval for any aspect whatsoever of an autopilot. It's unclear why the FAA would be presented as something on the critical path at an EXPERIMENTAL Aircraft Association convention. Hearing that from your booth last week was very jarring, it wasn't great messaging in the context of where it was being delivered and the kind of people it was being delivered to.

I have noticed a change from TruTrak since the autopilot STC was made available: It's very clear that you're prioritizing the certified market now. That's perhaps not surprising, given that you can sell essentially the same product into that market at twice the price, which probably increases your gross profit percentage by several hundred per cent. Hard to criticize you for doing that.

But you're also expressing an intention to be true to your roots, so to speak: "VERY committed to supporting the experimental market." In that spirit, can you tell us when Garmin G5 integration will be made available for non-STC'ed Vizion 385 autopilot systems on a timeframe that doesn't depend on the FAA, just like all your products were produced two years ago?

(A GMC 307 with a couple of Garmin servos isn't that much different cost-wise and functionality-wise from a Vizion 385, except that the integration problem is already solved to the extent that the G5 can be used as a full-on flight director; And it's been available as a package for almost as long as the G5 has been on the market. You have a competitor in your patch, but from this distance it feels like you've been playing dead? Should your customers who have subsequently installed G5's sell their TruTrak systems on the second hand market and buy Garmin?)

- mark

Honestly, when you ask about G5 integration, my guys usually expect you are a certified customer. Sorry about that. If you want the G5 interface in the experimental market, we can arrange that. There just really hasn?t been much call for it. I just need to get the experimental manual update with the UI for it. We are in the process of merging the two controller versions into one (yes, for reasons I don?t wish to go into right now...we have been producing two different sets of hardware for the exp / cert versions)

While you are right the profits are a little higher on the certified unit, the production costs of the servo is 2x, and the certification cost for each model is $$$$$, and there are whole slew of other costs too.

My intention has never been to forget about the experimental market, but the certified market has taken a lot of my resources lately. That?s one of the reasons this partnership with BK is such a great thing. It allows me to do both much more effectively than I have been able in the last several years.
 
Andrew,

I was pleased to see your reply that this integration effort is still alive.

I have also been inquiring and waiting for G5 integration with the Vision.

Can you help me with which GAD 29 module I will need to take advantage of this future integration? Straight GAD 29 or the GAD 29B which is for the certified market and is advertised to have support for third party autopilots?
Which will I need?

Thanks in advance and congratulations on the sale.
 
I echo Bill's appreciation for your response to my missive, and look forward to an experimental product that works with G5's.

I also have the same GAD29 question (I don't have the -B, but can easily retrofit one if needed, they're pretty inexpensive as far as aircraft parts go, and they're supposed to be pin-compatible with the wiring harness I already have)

Thanks for getting back.

- mark
 
Congrats

Andrew, congratulation to you. Well deserved. You are certainly living the American dream of an entrepreneur. It's great that you are still involved and so dedicated to your customer. Wish you the best.
 
I echo Bill's appreciation for your response to my missive, and look forward to an experimental product that works with G5's.

I also have the same GAD29 question (I don't have the -B, but can easily retrofit one if needed, they're pretty inexpensive as far as aircraft parts go, and they're supposed to be pin-compatible with the wiring harness I already have)

Thanks for getting back.

- mark

So we have a GAD 29B for our testing, but don't have a GAD 29. As far as we know there isn't any difference in the outputs that we use. If anyone had a GAD 29 that we could use for testing, then I would gladly toss into our demo panel and verify it. Or I could send you updated hardware and you can test it!
 
Not to change the subject but thanks Andrew for pursuing the Aspen interface. Just placed my order a couple days ago for that one. Any idea if the Aspen Altitude select will ever interface to the TruTrak Vizion for certified?
 
I'm guessing you won't want to send test hardware to Australia, otherwise I'd offer to run it for you. I'll defer to someone else to help out with that.

(but it's very good news that you expect it won't need the -B)

- mark
 
I'm guessing you won't want to send test hardware to Australia, otherwise I'd offer to run it for you. I'll defer to someone else to help out with that.

(but it's very good news that you expect it won't need the -B)

- mark

LOL, well that is a little far away, but we have done crazier things!
 
Thank you for taking the time to reply here, Andrew. These must be crazy days for you.

I meant what I said about TruTrak becoming the tail that wags the B-K dog. In the GA world, B-K is an absolute dog, the laughing stock of the industry. On the other hand, TruTrak has its merry band of dedicated followers and very happy customers. I clearly fall into the latter category with my Vizion 385. I sincerely hope that TruTrak will be able to lead by example, showing Honeywell how business should be done. In this newest of your business endeavors I wish you the very best of success.
 
Andrew,

Any status on the Garmin G5 integration into the Vizion AP for the experimental market? I know that you are likely very busy, but I wanted to reaffirm that there are a bunch of out here waiting(hoping) for it!

Thanks in advance!
 
Thank you for posting the YouTube link. That looks like some good progress. From some of the replies from TruTrak it looks like they are talking about the certified version of the 385 AP which may be different from the legacy experimental hardware.

So some questions remain that are specific to the legacy experimental 385's in the field

1) Are these legacy experimental units economically upgradeable to interface with the G5?
2) What features will be available? It looks like baro settings and heading info from the G5 bug. Possibly altitude preselect from G5 alt bug?
3) Which version of the GAD 29 is required (straight 29 or 29B)?

I am hoping for some response from TruTrak tech support.

Thanks,
 
Thank you for posting the YouTube link. That looks like some good progress. From some of the replies from TruTrak it looks like they are talking about the certified version of the 385 AP which may be different from the legacy experimental hardware.

So some questions remain that are specific to the legacy experimental 385's in the field

1) Are these legacy experimental units economically upgradeable to interface with the G5?
2) What features will be available? It looks like baro settings and heading info from the G5 bug. Possibly altitude preselect from G5 alt bug?
3) Which version of the GAD 29 is required (straight 29 or 29B)?

I am hoping for some response from TruTrak tech support.

Thanks,

Yes, the G5 interface is complete and is now shipping!

1. The only issue here is that we can only do this in the certified hardware, which we are switching the experimental products over to use. It will probably require an overhaul for it to work, which is $700.
2. Heading bug from G5, altitude bug from G5, and baro corrected altitude from G5.
3. As far as I know, either GAD 29 will work.
 
Last edited:
Andrew,

Thank you for the response. That is good news! That make the G5 conversion even more enticing. Just need to add some more upgrade dollars to the budget!
 
Andrew,

Thank you for the response. That is good news! That make the G5 conversion even more enticing. Just need to add some more upgrade dollars to the budget!

Sure thing...and sorry for the delay in my response. Sadly, I haven't been to VAF much in the last week or so!
 
2 questions:

Do the heading bug, altitude bug and baro sync for G5 to Experimental Vizion 385 work without a GAD29 or is it required?

Does the software update require the header unit to be returned to Trutrak or is there a way to update without a return?

Thanks,
 
2 questions:

Do the heading bug, altitude bug and baro sync for G5 to Experimental Vizion 385 work without a GAD29 or is it required?

Does the software update require the header unit to be returned to Trutrak or is there a way to update without a return?

Thanks,

The GAD 29 will be required, as it's the only way for us to get the ARINC output needed for the interface.

Yes, the autopilot controller does have to be returned to TruTrak (for now, eventually to BendixKing repair partners) for the software update.
 
Yes, the G5 interface is complete and is now shipping!

1. The only issue here is that we can only do this in the certified hardware, which we are switching the experimental products over to use. It will probably require an overhaul for it to work, which is $700.
2. Heading bug from G5, altitude bug from G5, and baro corrected altitude from G5.
3. As far as I know, either GAD 29 will work.

Hey Andrew,

So if I have this correct, to get the TT autopilot to communicate with the "experimental" version of the G-5 it'll require:

1. Send the current version of the TT controller head in for either a software upgrade/overhaul or trade in your current control head and upgrade to the Vizion model....$700 for the overhaul or $1000 for a trade in to for the Vizion....(that's what I was quoted for the trade in).

2. Installed the Garmin GAD-29. ($500) (+$? for wiring harness).

So basically for somewhere between $1,200-1,500 I can have G-5 control over my TT autopilot. Does that sound about right.
 
Andrew,

Will the aspen altitude bug work with the Vision 385 for certified? Also can Aspen forward ILS indications to the TT?

Thanks...
 
Back
Top