I am considering upgrading my old KNS80 to a 530W. We may do this next month if all goes well. My 79 Archer has the old IIIB autopilot which is only 2 axis. I'm wondering if I should upgrade the autopilot, too? However, I've noticed that modern autopilots adjust the trim on a LVP approach, but not an LNAV. So you have to adjust the VS yourself. If you dare to touch the trim, it disables the autopilot which I don't like. I wonder if I shouldn't just keep the old autopilot and trim for decent myself. I know you can adjust the VS to -500ft/min and you should be ok, but sometimes that doesn't work very well... What do you think?
Well in all honesty, I really haven't had much experience using the autopilot in the approach yet. I tend to feel more comfortable hand flying final at this point. The heavier planes actually seem to trim up and fly a glide slope nicely without AP intervention. Considering autopilots ain't cheap, and if yours works well as is, my opinion would be to hold off. That is just my 2 cents though. It is a very subjective question. Now the GPS, I think you will get a lot of bang for the buck. You may have trouble finding a 530 though, and if you do, it may not be much cheaper than a 650. I would say look at the 650/750 or Avidyne equivalent. Those are really nice and do a better job with flight plan entry.
@@kujoclips4962 I had a dealer in Prescott tell me the same thing about the 650/750. Unfortunately, I emailed him to get a quote on a new 650, but I never heard back. I need to give him a call. The avionics shop at KAVQ has a used 530W coming in for about $6500 plus labor to install. They also offered me a used one day 750 (not the Xi) for $12K plus install, but the wife said no..... I should have jumped on it. By the way, that sure is a nice hanger you've got there. Sure is a step up from the west tees at CID!!! You even have heat!!!??? Wow!
I am considering upgrading my old KNS80 to a 530W. We may do this next month if all goes well. My 79 Archer has the old IIIB autopilot which is only 2 axis. I'm wondering if I should upgrade the autopilot, too? However, I've noticed that modern autopilots adjust the trim on a LVP approach, but not an LNAV. So you have to adjust the VS yourself. If you dare to touch the trim, it disables the autopilot which I don't like. I wonder if I shouldn't just keep the old autopilot and trim for decent myself. I know you can adjust the VS to -500ft/min and you should be ok, but sometimes that doesn't work very well... What do you think?
Well in all honesty, I really haven't had much experience using the autopilot in the approach yet. I tend to feel more comfortable hand flying final at this point. The heavier planes actually seem to trim up and fly a glide slope nicely without AP intervention. Considering autopilots ain't cheap, and if yours works well as is, my opinion would be to hold off. That is just my 2 cents though. It is a very subjective question. Now the GPS, I think you will get a lot of bang for the buck. You may have trouble finding a 530 though, and if you do, it may not be much cheaper than a 650. I would say look at the 650/750 or Avidyne equivalent. Those are really nice and do a better job with flight plan entry.
@@kujoclips4962 I had a dealer in Prescott tell me the same thing about the 650/750. Unfortunately, I emailed him to get a quote on a new 650, but I never heard back. I need to give him a call. The avionics shop at KAVQ has a used 530W coming in for about $6500 plus labor to install. They also offered me a used one day 750 (not the Xi) for $12K plus install, but the wife said no..... I should have jumped on it. By the way, that sure is a nice hanger you've got there. Sure is a step up from the west tees at CID!!! You even have heat!!!??? Wow!
You cannot see a single thing going on in this video