Auto Pilots

[[email protected]]

So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
maybe an altitude hold as well?

[Mike[_22_]]

> wrote in message
...
> So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
> fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
> better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
> trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
> Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
> maybe an altitude hold as well?

Keep in mind that autopilots ain't cheap (at least certified ones).

I have an S-TEC 20 that has the heading bug, NAV/LOC/GPS tracking, and GPSS
options (no altitude hold). I've had it for several years and have never
had any problems with it.

The basic S-Tec 20 (no options) will run you about $6K and basic
installation will run you another $2.5K or so. If all you want is a basic
autopilot for VFR use, I would just recommend the heading bug option and
perhaps also connecting it to your CDI if it doesn't add much to the cost
(which gives you NAV/LOC/GPS tracking). Altitude hold is nice, but for VFR
use you don't really need it. Just trim the plane up and make occassional
adjustments. You need something to do on a long VFR flight anyway.

The S-TEC 20 is a great way to go. It's a nice reliable, easy to use
autopilot that replaces your turn coordinator and doesn't take up any space
in the panel. You can upgrade it to an S-TEC 30 later on, but this will run
you another $7-8K, so if you really want altitude hold, it's best to get it
up front.

If money is no object, just spend $20K on the S-Tec 55X and be done with it.

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
" > wrote:

> So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
> fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
> better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
> trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
> Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
> maybe an altitude hold as well?

An autopilot is nice on long xc, especially when in the soup.
Back in the 90's, I put an STEC 40 autopilot in my cherokee 140.
Way nice to let the AP handle stuff for a little while writing clearances,
etc.

The AP isn't necessary, but it nice.

The basic wingleveler, eg, STEC 20, is really all you
"need" in a basic bugsmasher. Think about how easy it
is to maintain altitude vs heading.

--
Bob Noel
(goodness, please trim replies!!!)

[[email protected]]

On Jul 20, 2:14 pm, Bob Noel >
wrote:
> In article >,
>
> " > wrote:
> > So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
> > fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
> > better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
> > trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
> > Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
> > maybe an altitude hold as well?
>
> An autopilot is nice on long xc, especially when in the soup.
> Back in the 90's, I put an STEC 40 autopilot in my cherokee 140.
> Way nice to let the AP handle stuff for a little while writing clearances,
> etc.
>
> The AP isn't necessary, but it nice.
>
> The basic wingleveler, eg, STEC 20, is really all you
> "need" in a basic bugsmasher. Think about how easy it
> is to maintain altitude vs heading.
>
> --
> Bob Noel
> (goodness, please trim replies!!!)

Yea, I was thinking about that. I also have a Garmin 496, but I think
the only wiring there would be lateral, switch it for the heading bug
function. The altitude hold is exactly right-don't really need it,
even in IFR, if the plane's trimmed well, and it should be, then the
plane will stay where it is just going forward straight and level.

[Paul kgyy]

On Jul 20, 12:50 pm, " > wrote:
> So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
> fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
> better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
> trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
> Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
> maybe an altitude hold as well?

Give the folks at AutoPilots Central a hail - maybe they have a
serviceable Century 21 or something.

My experience with wing levelers is that they still need frequent
attention on long trips - being able to either read NAV or Heading
input is a big help.

[[email protected]]

On Jul 21, 3:05*pm, Paul kgyy > wrote:
> On Jul 20, 12:50 pm, " > wrote:
>
> > So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
> > fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
> > better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
> > trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
> > Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
> > maybe an altitude hold as well?
>
> Give the folks at AutoPilots Central a hail - maybe they have a
> serviceable Century 21 or something.
>
> My experience with wing levelers is that they still need frequent
> attention on long trips - being able to either read NAV or Heading
> input is a big help.

I gave an email to Auto Pilots Central last week with no response yet,
so I think I'll just have to call them or visit them when we pick up
our other plane they're working on.

[Mark Hansen]

On 07/23/08 06:51, wrote:
> On Jul 21, 3:05�pm, Paul kgyy > wrote:
>> On Jul 20, 12:50 pm, " > wrote:
>>
>> > So I own a 1961 Cessna 172. She's a great little airplane, light on
>> > fuel burn, and not too bad on the airspeed, although she could do
>> > better. I want an autopilot to start taking her on long trips. I'm
>> > trying to do it as cheaply as possible but still legal obviously.
>> > Anyone know of autopilots that will at least keep the wings level,
>> > maybe an altitude hold as well?
>>
>> Give the folks at AutoPilots Central a hail - maybe they have a
>> serviceable Century 21 or something.
>>
>> My experience with wing levelers is that they still need frequent
>> attention on long trips - being able to either read NAV or Heading
>> input is a big help.
>
> I gave an email to Auto Pilots Central last week with no response yet,
> so I think I'll just have to call them or visit them when we pick up
> our other plane they're working on.

They're working on a plane for you and still won't respond to your
e-mail?

[Paul kgyy]

>
> I gave an email to Auto Pilots Central last week with no response yet,
> so I think I'll just have to call them or visit them when we pick up
> our other plane they're working on.

I think that unsolicited emails to vendors frequently end up being
treated as spam, so call them. They do have a good reputation on
various chat groups.