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Sorcerer calibrations

J

jay.pearlman

Well Known Member
I will be flying the sorcerer autopilot for the first time next week and want to do the calibrations for pitch, roll, etc prior to the flight. Does anyone have the calibration numbers (torque, activity, etc) for an RV6 or RV7?
 
Install manual?

For my new Vizion 385, those numbers were in the back of the install/operating manual ---- I used those numbers and everything is working fine.
 
Manual or call

If you are flying an RV-10 Rob (AFS) puts them in the installation manual. It's online. If you want, call me tomorrow and I will read you off all of mine.

Vic
404-307-5133
 
RV7 settings

Torques should always be at 12.

For a -6 or a -7, activities at 3 will get you started. Microactivities keep at 0. Let me know if I can help!
 
Jay, it won't take much to "dial it in". Have a test card and jot down notes. Then review those notes on the ground. Sometimes what you experience in flight will not make sense but becomes clean once you can sit down and think through things.

You're going to love the Sorcerer. It flew it's grandparent (DFC250) and it is my favorite AP so far.
 
Last edited:
Nailing a GPS Approach

I started flying the sorcerer and it performs beautifully EXCEPT for approach coupling. Let me ask the steps for a GPS LPV approach - which buttons in which sequence. The approach is not locking in the vertical guidance.
Thanks everyone.
 
Page 13 of the Manual
http://trutrakap.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SorcererOperationManual2.pdf

Vertical GPS Steering Mode (see also GPSS)
If there is a vertical steering signal present when the GPSS mode
is active, and the autopilot is in altitude hold or zero vertical speed, the
autopilot will enter the vertical steering mode automatically. In the VS
(Vertical Steering) mode the autopilot follows vertical steering
commands generated by a navigation system (EFIS or GPS). NOTE: If
there is not a vertical GPS steering signal present the autopilot will NOT
have VS (GPSV) function.

On GPS WAAS/LPV Approach

Once the VDI has been above the center by one dot for at least 7 seconds
the VS mode will ARM, and the display will show:

As the VDI passes through center, the autopilot will couple to the virtual
glide slope, and the display will show that the autopilot is now coupled to
the virtual glide slope as below:
 
TrutrakTech said:
Torques should always be at 12.

For a -6 or a -7, activities at 3 will get you started. Microactivities keep at 0. Let me know if I can help!
Click to expand...

Hi Lucas, not to hijack this thread but I had an interesting thing happen with my Sorcerer today. First off, it's in an RV-10 with a G-900X panel. I'm still getting used to the Sorcerer so I set it up with the factory recommended settings. I find that it does 2 things that gets my attention; It will sometimes lose (or gain) altitude over the selected "hold", especially in a turn, and then start chasing (read porpoising) above and below the altitude by 100 feet (maybe more).

Secondly, when I set it up to fly an ILS it coupled then started a climb to intercept the glide slope, which was above me. I had reduced power for the approach and suddenly I was losing significant airspeed in the climb. I had to disconnect the AP and fly it by hand. What's going on and how do I fix it?

thanks

~Marc
 
jay.pearlman said:
I started flying the sorcerer and it performs beautifully EXCEPT for approach coupling. Let me ask the steps for a GPS LPV approach - which buttons in which sequence. The approach is not locking in the vertical guidance.
Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Jay, make sure you're in altitude hold at the altitude you want to couple to the approach. You have to be under the glide slope. Also, make sure you haven't queued up the vertical steering and then cancelled it by making a new altitude selection. If at any point the display shows VS on the right side (not SVS), and then you do something different in the vertical mode, you have cancelled the vertical steering selection and will have to push GPSS to get it back.

Plummit said:
Hi Lucas, not to hijack this thread but I had an interesting thing happen with my Sorcerer today. First off, it's in an RV-10 with a G-900X panel. I'm still getting used to the Sorcerer so I set it up with the factory recommended settings. I find that it does 2 things that gets my attention; It will sometimes lose (or gain) altitude over the selected "hold", especially in a turn, and then start chasing (read porpoising) above and below the altitude by 100 feet (maybe more).

Secondly, when I set it up to fly an ILS it coupled then started a climb to intercept the glide slope, which was above me. I had reduced power for the approach and suddenly I was losing significant airspeed in the climb. I had to disconnect the AP and fly it by hand. What's going on and how do I fix it?

thanks

~Marc
Click to expand...

Try increasing your static lag setting from 0 to 2.

Which version of software do you have?
 
TrutrakTech said:
Try increasing your static lag setting from 0 to 2.

Which version of software do you have?
Click to expand...

The auto pilot was just sent back to tru trac in May, so I assume(!) it has the latest software but I will check today. I'll try changing the lag setting.

thanks

~Marc
 
Well I changed the static lag and now the auto pilot will over-shoot the altitude by 100 feet+ then start chasing the altitude when I hit the Alt button. Not liking that very much. I'll try something in between unless there is another idea.

~Marc
 
I checked the TTFS Packing List #36545 that had a ship date of 5/14/15 and it states:

Received with:
SW version 3.64
Main Board Rev: D
Mother Board Rev: C
Power board Rev: C
LAT: 4/12/9600/Med/0/16/ON/16/Y/N
VRT: 8/12/80/190/125/0/0/N

Work performed
-Replaced rocker switch
-Replaced Bezel
_Updated SW-Function test on bench within factory specifications
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

One thing I forgot to mention was that when I changed the heading in Hold mode using the heading knob on the 900X (I had selected EXT), the airplane lost altitude then started trying to return to the selected Hold altitude but overshot. I took control at that point.

Still looking for answers....

~Marc
 
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Issues with Sorcerer A/P

I was wondering if you did actually fine tune your G900X and your Sorcerer.
I just purchased a Lancair ES with a Sorcerer, and I'm debating whether to upgrade it or what to do....

Appreciate your comments .

Thank you
 
Frank, I sent you a private email but basically, the answer is no, I never was able to get the Sorcerer fine tuned to the point that it was as good as other autopilot's I've flown.

Is Tru-track even still in business? Their web page indicates they are sold out of everything.

-Marc
 
Plummit said:
Frank, I sent you a private email but basically, the answer is no, I never was able to get the Sorcerer fine tuned to the point that it was as good as other autopilot's I've flown.

Is Tru-track even still in business? Their web page indicates they are sold out of everything.

-Marc
Click to expand...

We're here. We're adding a webstore to our website to accommodate our new certified product line and we wanted to make sure everything with our sales/inventory integration was in place before we allowed online purchases. Hence why it all showed sold out. :)

I'm sorry to hear you couldn't get the Sorcerer to work for you. The most likely culprit to the problems I see listed is the static input to the autopilot. If you still have the Sorcerer and would still like some help, please send me an email to [email protected] Thanks!
 
TrutrakTech said:
I'm sorry to hear you couldn't get the Sorcerer to work for you. The most likely culprit to the problems I see listed is the static input to the autopilot. If you still have the Sorcerer and would still like some help, please send me an email to [email protected] Thanks!
Click to expand...

It wasn't that I couldn't get it to work; It just doesn't perform as well as other autopilots I've used, and is way more difficult to get the glideslope coupled when I get late vectors and altitude assignments. That (the late altitude assignments) isn't tru-track's fault, but it was a none issue with my old KAP 140 and G-1000 equipped Cessna. Getting in altitude hold mode below the glideslope for 7 seconds uses a lot of airspace at RV speeds.

But I will send an email and try to work through some of the other issues that would make the Sorcerer more user friendly.

~Marc
 
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