• PiperForum.com is a vibrant community of Piper owners and pilots. Our over 1,500+ active members use Piper Forum to swap technical knowledge, plan meetups and sell planes/parts. We host technical knowledge of general aviation topics and specific topics on J3-Cubs, Cherokees, Comanches, Pacers and more. In addition to an instant community of pilots for you, PiperForum.com is a library of technical topics, airplane builds, images, technical manuals, technical documents and more.

    Access to PiperForum.com is subscription based. Subscriptions are only $49.99/year or $6.99/month to gain access to this great community and unmatched library of Piper knowledge.

    Click Here to Become a Subscribing Member and Access PiperForum.com in Full!

TruTrak Vision $7,250 Installed

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Where is the fly in factory tour at? I see an AR address on their website, but didn't know if this event was closer.

KASG in AR... going to make a nice 1020nm x country out of it
 
I agree on both fronts, Trutrak guys are expecting the approval soon. I will be visiting them at the factory on 1/18/19 with about 12 other aircraft for a fly in factory tour and will get a first hand report when there if it’s not approved by then. If any of you are interested in joining us on the 18th shoot me an email at [email protected] to rsvp. We are planning on Lunch, factory tour and Q&A seasson plus a good time meeting other pilots!



Pix please if they allow? Nice to see where my AP was born.... :)

Cappy
 
Hey Jesse, If I already have dual G5's, do you think Garmin will beat TruTrak to the punch with the GFC 500 for my PA-32?

If so, would the cost be a toss up or would the TruTrak still be significantly less installed?

The STC Group has completed its application to add the PA32s (all, except T-Tail) to its Trio ProPilot Approved Model List and will be submitting within a few days to the Chicago ACO. Expect cost to be $6,250 or thereabouts with 30 or so hours to install by any competent shop.
 
I believe the PA-32s were originally approved with the PA-28s...

But Corey and Zach, in their words, "did not like the way it flew the airplane". I believe the pitch servo torque and linkage was not up to the task of handling the heavier aircraft in the programmed turns.

This is the issue with the Trio in 182s, and some have been removed.

I imagine it was an unpopular decision to modify the pitch control and cause the resultant delay in getting it "reapproved" , but I think most appreciate their efforts to "get it right" .

The modified pitch servo/system now flies the 32s like the 28s and that is very well...

My Warrior in a programmed turn (20 Deg. bank) asks for a lot of "up" trim. I don't give it because the servo has the authority to "tough it out" for the turn, then rolls out and everything is back to normal. The 32s need almost double the pitch force in the same turn, so I suspect that is where the issue was...

Cap

Cap

The STC Group has completed its paperwork to add the PA32s (all, except T-Tails) to the AML. There was a delay since the PA32 design did not work well with the PA32. The test prototype, a 1974 PA32-300, flew just fine with very normal gain settings. As for Trios in 182s, there are about 80 to 100 flying with very satisfied users. There are a handful of 182s that have required inordinately high gain settings. The Designated Engineering Rep attributes most of these to specific aircraft issues. (For example, one plane that had seemingly inscrutable issues was found to have an "epic" damage history -- like a complete new wing and a couple of major empennage crunches so query how "normal" its control pulleys, angles, etc., are.)

The Trio PA32s should be available by the end 1st Qtr 2019.

jagcapt
 
I think the Trutrak will be ready much sooner. It should be approved any day. I would expect the GFC500 to be double the cost of the TruTrak with installation.
The Garmin GFC 500 starts at $6,995 + install and someone is quoting the TruTrak at $7,250 + install. Since I already have dual G5's, I'm not sure how the TruTrak will be double in my case (PA-32-300). Am I missing something?
 
The Garmin GFC 500 starts at $6,995 + install and someone is quoting the TruTrak at $7,250 + install. Since I already have dual G5's, I'm not sure how the TruTrak will be double in my case (PA-32-300). Am I missing something?

The quote in this thread for the Trutrak is $7250 INCLUDING installation....
 
We have done dozens of installations of Trio Pro Pilot autopilots, both in the pre-STC design stage and in customer installations. Our installation is about as straightforward as possible and we tell customers to plan on about 30 to 40 hours to install, test and complete the paperwork. It only takes a day to install the servos; the time is sucked up in the pre-installation tests (pitot/static, rigging free and correct), panel, the interior, testing pitot/static and testing functionality. We have been informed by reliable sources that the Garmin GFC 500 is a very time-consuming job which must be done at a Garmin authorized dealer. We don't know how many shop hours constitutes "time consuming" but guess that it must be 45 or 50 hours, minimum, to install (at a Garmin dealer rate) since the GFC500 uses capstans that are not a simple installation. Additionally, most potential buyers need the two G5s (more installation labor) and, doing the math, that pushes the "package" to about $20,000.
 
I agree on both fronts, Trutrak guys are expecting the approval soon. I will be visiting them at the factory on 1/18/19 with about 12 other aircraft for a fly in factory tour and will get a first hand report when there if it’s not approved by then. If any of you are interested in joining us on the 18th shoot me an email at [email protected] to rsvp. We are planning on Lunch, factory tour and Q&A seasson plus a good time meeting other pilots!


Admin.. please delete.. no response in body...

Cap
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top