What's new
Van's Air Force

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

TruTrak Digiflight 11

As mentioned, I?m not familiar with a Digiflight 11, but very familiar with a Digiflight II.
 
Learned a Lot Recently

Hi Capt!
I learned a lot about the DigiFlight II recently as it came with my newly purchased RV-8. What's your question?
Randy
 
Hi guys thanks for the replies so far, appreciate it.
I have the full operating manual on the unit so thanks for the links anyway.
I have the Digiflight 11 in an 8 also Randy that I recently purchased.
Here's what it does or doesn't do.
Following the manual I've set the Gryos several times n the ground & in Flt.
The unit is meant to be coupled to an Aplollo GX65 according to the previous owner who had not flown it for some years due medical issues, he can't help me with any tech stuff.
When I power it up it only ever shows Hdg, am unable to get the unit I to display Trk even thought I have an active Flt Pln in the GX65. Also according to the manual when the unit is first engaged in Flt after trimming for Lvl Flt it's meant to go into basic Trk but no Alt hold until the 'Alt' button is selected, mine defaults to Alt Hold autmatcually. Doesn't hold height that good anyway. Wth Hdg engaged as I can't ever get Trk it drifts off, wanders around & struggles to hold a Hdg. When I'm on the Grnd running up I note the unit displays the Hdg 180 deg's out to where I am facing even after Gyro cal, airborne it's not that far out but enough not to trust it to remain where you want the plane to go. Bank angle when a new Hdg is selected is painfully slow even with high selected in the set up pages.
I've flown it with a copy of the set up manual in the cockpit and adjusted all the setting as per the book, still all over the place, tried numerous setting/combinations Next step is to remove the unit to see if there is any hardware issues, wiring etc, be surprised as this machine had zillions spent on it for top notch wiring/ plugs etc.
So you can see am frustrated so here I am,,,,,help!:)
 
Last edited:
Call Corey at TruTrak

Hi Adrian,
The first thing I would do is call Corey at TruTrak. He's one of their Tech Support folks - (479) 751-0250. He worked with me to get my DigiFlight working properly. Believe it or not, he always answered on the first call.

You'll want to make sure you are at the airplane ready to troubleshoot. There are at least two and maybe three manuals you should have - the Operating Manual, the Installation Manual, and if you have AutoTrim installed, the Auto Trim Manual. All available on the TruTrak website.

It doesn't sound to me like your GPS is talking to the DigiFlight but that doesn't explain some of the other, independent operation behavior you described.

In my case, the previous owner obviously didn't use the autopilot (at least for altitude hold) because the pitch servo had to be reversed and the auto trim was also trimming in the wrong direction. Corey helped me figure it out and I corrected the problem by snipping a jumper and throwing a switch.

Give Corey a call and let us know how it works out.
Randy
 
Thanks Randy, I hope Corey is happy with me calling him in the middle of the night as I am down under !...hahaha
 
Wandering and slowness to react are all gain and sensitivity settings that aren't correctly set. This is assuming that you have the appropriate servos installed and they are still generating enough torque to hold their setting.

I have seen mine not being able to hold a course due to me forgetting to keep the fuel tanks relatively balanced.

I would start with the recommended settings for your RV model, then go from there. What may help you understand this process better is the read the Vizion manuals. It's almost the same with a few more bells and whistles, but the manuals are better written. Specifically there is a flow chart that walks through all the various settings.
 
Thanks Bob. I've pretty much exhausted my abilities to troubleshoot this TT A/P trying numerous settings as per the books as well as checked out the Vizion manuals so it's either rip it all out get something decent of its off to a 'cone head', an Inst tech guy:)
I usually fly with the tanks accurately balanced so hands off in still air my 8 fly's' straight as a die:)
 
Servo Shear Pins?

Capt,
Have you checked the servo shear pins? If one or both are bad it could explain the wandering.
 
Not likely to be your situation, but I?ll share my experience. I installed a Digitrak (roll only) in my RV-3 with the control head in a sub-panel in front of the stick. The unit would not go through the calibration procedure without giving up and would wag back and forth across the course line. Turned out that the sub-panel was tilted 15 or so degrees relative to the main panel and that was enough to confuse the control head. Relocated to the main panel and now it is rock solid.

I also installed an Altrak (pitch only) and managed to get the servo control wires reversed. The first test led to an interesting porpoising ride. Fixed the wires and now it is rock solid.
 
Thanks for the additional info guys. I'll get the servos checked although I'd be surprised they are faulty ( but you never know!) . The head is mounted vertically on the main panel. The installation was done many years ago but has done very little work, most likely around 150 hrs probably a lot less.
Speaking to a 'cone head' tech guy he mentioned that the internal gyro of the unit maybe faulty because the Hdg display numbers tends to have a mind of its own. Am now looking at the hardware installation beyond actual plugs and connections. I'll keep you guys posted, we can all learn & this is a great forum for that:)
 
Thanks for the additional info guys. I'll get the servos checked although I'd be surprised they are faulty ( but you never know!) . The head is mounted vertically on the main panel. The installation was done many years ago but has done very little work, most likely around 150 hrs probably a lot less.
Speaking to a 'cone head' tech guy he mentioned that the internal gyro of the unit maybe faulty because the Hdg display numbers tends to have a mind of its own. Am now looking at the hardware installation beyond actual plugs and connections. I'll keep you guys posted, we can all learn & this is a great forum for that:)

What has Trutrak said?

You'll get as many opinions as there are posters on VAF. Trutrak's is the only opinion that truly counts.
 
According to their web site if tech advice is needed then call them, not practical for me as I am down under. I gather they don't want email contact for tech help!
 
Back
Top