Electric Rudder Trim

[Archer39J]

There was a thread about this in the past 6 months. I did a little googling on VAF on 3rd axis autopilot servos/yaw dampers. They are out there. I did find a post that said numerous RV-10 guys with yaw servos will turn the yaw axis "on" right after takeoff and leave it on until right before landing. Than means even with the autopilot off, the autopilot was working in yaw.

So some, or maybe all EFIS companies have this function built in, and there are 3rd party solutions as well. How much work is it to get it to keep the ball centered while flying/turning with the autopilot on? I don't know. Maybe plug and play. Maybe 6 months of trial and error adjusting gains/rates.

But it is out there.

Yeah, I saw the 3rd axis thread. I couldn't think of an easy solution for this, and I've never flown with one so it's not something I'll miss. But it does seem an interesting design problem to solve. I figure I can just use my feet

[svyolo]

I get my kit later today. I am going to build it simple, light, and mostly stock. Later, if their is something I can't live without, I will add it. I have so little GA time, I don't even know what I want, or don't want.

John R
Bellingham, WA

[Archer39J]

Exciting day, congrats! You're close too, I used to live in Bellingham.

[Bcone1381]

Yahoo! Did Mike deliver it?

[JimParker256]

I get my kit later today. I am going to build it simple, light, and mostly stock. Later, if their is something I can't live without, I will add it. I have so little GA time, I don't even know what I want, or don't want.

John R
Bellingham, WA

I think that's an excellent starting point. It's (relatively) easy to add "stuff" later, but as many can attest, it can be VERY expensive to add "lightness" after the build is complete. I'm not particularly close friends with Bob Barrows – we met at OSH a couple of years ago in the Bearhawk booth – but I am impressed by how light he builds his airplanes... So every time I'm tempted to add something that would make the airplane more complex, I think "What would Bob think of that idea? Could I justify it to him without getting the 'side eye' look?" Things that will enhance my ability to adequately maintain the airplane are no-brainers (like the removable floor panels) – I'm sure Bob would agree with my logic. Others – like 3-axis autopilot – would probably get the "side-eye" look... LOL I'm still struggling with the idea of using an EFIS. I think a single EFIS will prove to be lighter overall than steam gauges, but a dual-EFIS (so you're not grounded by a single point of failure) might be heavier. But those GRT Mini's look pretty cool and are pretty light... Two of those might make a really nice redundant panel. (See, there I go rationalizing again...)