Flying a 172 with Autopilot?

Is there any one here flying a 172 using an autopilot?

I think on longer flights (3+ hours) and autopilot would be an advantage,
however there are some in the old school that think it is not necessary.

I'd like some opinions.

thx

Joe


http://www.ve5jl.com

VE5JL wrote:
Is there any one here flying a 172 using an autopilot?

I think on longer flights (3+ hours) and autopilot would be an advantage,
however there are some in the old school that think it is not necessary.

I'd like some opinions.

OK, here's mine.

An autopilot is not "necessary" in any airplane, as long as there's
someone on board capable of flying it manually.

Now, if the question were, "Is an autopilot convenient?", the answer is,
sure it is, regardless of the length of the flight.

You're gonna' get a lot of opinions about autopilots and single-pilot
IFR, yada, yada, yada, so...............let 'er rip.

VE5JL wrote:

Is there any one here flying a 172 using an autopilot?

I think on longer flights (3+ hours) and autopilot would be an advantage,
however there are some in the old school that think it is not necessary.

I'd like some opinions.

Based on about 500 hours logged in a C172SP equipped with a NAV II package
(dual axis autopilot, IFR GPS, multifuinction display), my experience
suggests that an autopilot definitely contributed to the overall safety of
each of my flights, especially since most were flown as single pilot in
Northeast US IMC or night time.

Of course, the caveat is that you must still monitor the autopilot's
performance by scanning the gauges and be ready to take back control if
something doesn't appear right.

Once while cruising in IMC, the C172 suddenly began a turn to the right,
off course. Despite validating the course, GPS/NAV switch, and course, the
AP still wanted to turn to the right. After a couple of attempts, I
concluded that there must have been a problem with the AP and pulled the
breaker, hand-flying the remaining route and back.

Later that week, maintenance had discovered that the servo that controlled
the right aileron had failed.

--
Peter


















----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

I think on longer flights (3+ hours) and autopilot would be an advantage,
however there are some in the old school that think it is not necessary.

A simple wing leveler (single axis autopilot) is a Godsend on long flights.
Mine tracks a heading and is really nice, especially during the Dog Days of
summer when the horizon is milky and holding a heading by reference to
ground landmarks becomes more difficult.

It's also a nice safety feature -- one that JFK, Jr. could (and should) have
used to save his life.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I second the motion for a wing-leveler. Anything more than that is icing on
the cake. If one likes to shoot ILSs to minimums, a nav tracker would pay
off...but I do not think that the average recreational flyer pushes the
envelope that hard.

Bob Gardner

"VE5JL" wrote in message
news:R4fye.1866495$6l.1009425@pd7tw2no...
Is there any one here flying a 172 using an autopilot?

I think on longer flights (3+ hours) and autopilot would be an advantage,
however there are some in the old school that think it is not necessary.

I'd like some opinions.

thx

Joe


http://www.ve5jl.com

I trust, and use the autopilots in the later 172's (R and SP). It's a real
work-saver, and as such contributes to the safety and comfort of the flight.
The recent 182's have the same setup. You can do some basic tests before
takeoff, to make sure it's doing more or less what it's supposed to.

I recently rented an older 172, with a Nav-o-Matic relic. I've never flown
with one of those things, so I left it alone. For all I know, it's just as
reliable.

G Faris

VE5JL wrote:
Is there any one here flying a 172 using an autopilot?

I think on longer flights (3+ hours) and autopilot would be an advantage,
however there are some in the old school that think it is not necessary.



There's a lot to be said for an autopilot on any any aircraft you fly if you
ever go single pilot IFR. Just being able to "let George do it" while you try
to figure out the entry to an unexpected holding pattern is very useful.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

I recently rented an older 172, with a Nav-o-Matic relic. I've never flown
with one of those things, so I left it alone. For all I know, it's just as
reliable.

"Nav-O-Matic"??

Was there a coin slot, or had it been upgraded to accept dollar bills?

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I don't know if any of you out there have tried Jay's "fruit for
breakfast and lunch" diet but I did and have these results to post:

I have been doing my own version of this for 6 weeks or so. I started
out for the first week or two doing exactly what Jay did. After 2 weeks
I could no longer eat fruit for every lunch so I started just trying to
be sensible about my lunch intake. I no longer am stopping at Taco Bell
and eating 1000 calories of that stuff for lunch. I also am only
allowing myself 1 can of regular soda per day instead of my usual 3 or
so. I then eat pretty much whatever I want for dinner and just watch my
portions.

Results: went from 200# to 189#. I think if I decide to throw a little
exercise in there I would probably drop another 10#. We'll see. I am
jsut happy as hell to be below 190#

Thanks Jay for starting me on this journey!!

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
'79 Mooney 201

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 21:49:46 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

I recently rented an older 172, with a Nav-o-Matic relic. I've never flown
with one of those things, so I left it alone. For all I know, it's just as
reliable.

"Nav-O-Matic"??

Was there a coin slot, or had it been upgraded to accept dollar bills?

Nav-O-Matic seems to be different than the Tactair we have int he
club's '61 172. The Tactair is a wing-leveler that also tracks the
DG. It is all-pneumatic -- everything, including the servo motors,
runs off the vacuum system. Heading input comes from a special DG
with two knobs and two old-style rings, one above the other. You set
one ring like an ordinary DG and you set the other for desired
heading. Then the AP tries to make them match.

It's good for folding charts. After a while, it tends to hunt. There
are a couple of screws for adjusting damping factor, but on our
installation, one is only a rumor in the owners manual. If it exists,
it is behind so many other things in back of the panel, nobody can
locate it.

It's like the fellow said about women preachers. . . .

Don