before I buy a 6A

Hello all, This is my first official post. I must confess I have been stalking and reading and trying not to ask an already worn out question. I am looking to purchase an already flying 6A. My desire was / is to build a 10 but my job change will mean renting for several years so I will put the build project on hold until I build home and hangar. Looking at 6's on all the websites i am finding a lot of these planes are vfr only and or have no auto pilot. I can make the bird IFR but I don't know what is involved with installing an auto pilot. I don't know which auto pilot I would want to buy yet. I want one that will couple an approach and would work with either a gps or a nav/com. Is installing the auto pilot do-able or should I narrow my search to a bird that already has one installed? any help would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a -6A with minimal AP, but

I wanted one with full approach capability. I purchased a Trutrak Vizion 385, which has everything you would ever need in an AP. I installed it myself. I had installed an earlier Trutrak in an -8A, and in the -10 we built, so I did have some experience and the install went well. I have it coupled to a Garmin 650 and a G430. The coupled approach "magic" is really fun to watch.

There is plenty of help available on the forum, from local builders, and from the AP suppliers.

I know you will enjoy any RV you end up with.

Ron

Answering the question of whether you would be capable of installing an autopilot or doing other modifications is difficult.
Some guys could design, build, and then install a custom autopilot....... The other extreme is guys whose wives know home repair/remodel projects are cheaper in the long run if they hide their hubbies tool box and call in a professional right from the start.
Only you (or your wife maybe ) knows the answer.

But if you are reasonably mechanical and aren't frightened by something that has wires attached to it, you could probably do it. Particularly if you can find someone to look over your shoulder and mentor you a bit (Other RV owners, EAA chapter members or technical counselor, etc.)

I have an RV-6 with TruTrak Vizion 380 A/P. The aircraft is all opened upright now awaiting a new GRT EFIS. If you would like to come down and take a look, you're more than welcome.

Given the rapid advancements in Experimental avionics technology, if I were looking to buy an airplane today, I would likely prefer one that had the barest minimum VFR panel.

Why? Because by starting with almost nothing, one can install a beautifully-integrated IFR-capable set of avionics without having to worry about how to adapt to existing, perhaps somewhat stale avionics.

Why #2? Because I started with a very good but outdated VFR panel. Had I not had that existing investment in wiring etc, I would have started out with a fresh panel and been done much sooner with far less hassle. Trying to build on something that's existing, particularly if poorly documented, can often take more work than ripping it all out and starting from scratch. Particularly so if the original build quality in the panel was not the very best.

Spend your money on a good, solid airframe. You can add interior, paint and avionics as money becomes available. Get the airframe configuration you want (A-model, slider or tipper as you prefer) and the engine/prop combination you want. Everything else is just window dressing that can be changed relatively easily down the road.

WRT autopilots, if you are looking at going with an EFIS, Garmin, Dynon, AFS, GRT and MGL all have good EFIS-controlled autopilots. You'll have to install two servos to get the functionality you want so there's not a huge difference in installation complexity between brands. Same goes if you want a stand-alone A/P; TruTrak and Trio are excellent. TruTrak integrates well with the GRT EFIS offering (or you can use GRT's built-in auto-pilot of you select their EFIS product.)

It truly is amazing to see the level of functionality we have available to us in our homebuilt airplanes. Those who own certificated aircraft are green with envy!

Different answer, A/P in RV6A

When I purchased my -6A it had a simple Navaid roll only autopilot and a Garmin 496. I purchased a Trio ProPilot two axis autopilot unit and one additional servo. Went to Jay Pratt's RV Central and Jay helped getting the pitch servo installed, maybe 3 hours? I'm a happy repeat customer of Jay's shop. Then I did panel install and wiring work and checkout. I'm really slow, probably spent around 20 hours total in his shop. It was a time-consuming challenge for me to run the wires from the pitch servo behind the baggage compartment up to the panel and the ProPilot. Mine is a slider and access behind the panel is laying upside down on the floor. Rumor is that tip up access to work behind the panel is easier. Very happy with the ProPilot with about 5 years and 500 hours of experience. It's VFR only for me, and the autopilot is wired by RS232 to the G 496 for heading information, and flying waypoint to waypoint.

Your Mileage May Vary YMMV

Carl

Wow thanks for all the responses. It's a big help, now to narrow down the field and pick one. I hope to be the proud owner of a -6A before Thanksgiving, Again Thanks for the help and advice.

REcently installed A/P servos

Hello,

Agree with previous poster that said if you are buying, get a good VFR 6a and fix it up the way you want. I just recently installed 2 GRT autopilot servos in my 6a. Seemed like a totally doable project, however I did get help from a friend of mine at the airport who is an I/A who built his own 7a. After buying the servos, brackets, harnesses etc. and installing them I was less than $2k. All of the major EFIS manufacturers have integrated A/P solutions. I don't know how they compare with the stand alone A/P's, but mine seemed to fill the bill.

Cheers

Geoff