The owner of this Beech B36TC Bonanza met Maxcraft at one of the many tradeshows we attend throughout the year and discussed an ongoing snag he had been experiencing with his newly installed Genesys autopilot. This autopilot had been installed by another shop more local to him during a “dream panel” avionics upgrade. After some discussion about the troubles, the customer made the short flight across the border where Maxcraft resolved the problem in short time. Satisfied with our quality of work, this customer returned to Maxcraft for more upgrades a couple months later.
Turbine Bonanza Frustrating Autopilot Troubleshooting
1997 Bonanza B36TC Turbine Conversion
Aircraft & Owner:
The Beechcraft Bonanza is one of the most widely recognized general aviation aircraft around. With more than 17,000 produced since 1947, the Bonanza has been in production longer than any other aircraft in history. Being a B36TC, this Bonanza is a more recent example of what the Bonanza lineup has grown into over the decades. What truly sets this aircraft apart is the turbine conversion. Replacing the original TSIO-520 engine is a PT6A-21 turbine engine making this Bonanza a rocket ship. We ran into this aircraft owner at one of the many tradeshows Maxcraft ventures out to throughout the year.
Need:
At the Northwest Aviation Conference and Trade Show in Puyallup, Washington the customer came to us with a frustrating problem he’d been experiencing since completing a massive avionics upgrade. While in cruise flight, the Genesys autopilot would continuously porpoise 20 feet in altitude. This makes for an extremely uncomfortable ride. While the customer returned to the shop which completed the installation, they were unable to resolve the issue, nor were other shops he approached. With our familiarity with the S-TEC 3100 autopilot, we were confident we would be able to solve this problem once and for all and planned a time for the customer to make the short flight over the border to our hangar in Pitt Meadows.
NEW EQUIPMENT LIST
| GI 275 | Backup Electronic Flight Instrument/Multi-Function Display (Garmin) |
| GSB 15 | USB Charging Ports (Garmin) |
| Smart Glide Switch | Dedicated Smart Glide Switch (Garmin) |
Maxcraft Solution:
With the aircraft in our hangar, we were quick to begin running through the normal troubleshooting routine. After checking a few possibilities, we discovered one of the connections from the autopilot controller was wired incorrectly. After correcting the wiring in accordance with the installation documents from Genesys, the ground test procedure was performed and passed with flying colours. After completing a routine inspection of the servos, the autopilot was ready to be returned to service, in much better shape than before.
While we had the aircraft in our hangar, we completed software update on the G500 TXi primary flight display, GTN 750Xi GPS, and GTX 345 transponder. Garmin truly stand behind their products and reward their customers with software updates that often times include new features. One of the best examples of this is Smart Glide, which this customer gained after an update. Garmin’s Smart Glide technology greatly eases the workload on a pilot in the event of an engine failure. By displaying the pitch to maintain best glide speed, along with a range ring displaying where they are able to glide accounting for the winds and other current conditions. If an airport is within gliding distance the pilot will be guided towards it.
Shortly after arriving the customer returned to fly their airplane back home. After they were back home, we received the news that the flight was a success! The autopilot was functioning exactly as it should the entire time with no porpoising whatsoever.
Pleased with the work we performed this customer returned to Maxcraft a few months later to receive some minor upgrades. This would include adding a dedicated Smart Glide switch and swapping out some USB charging ports with type-c ports. The largest upgrade was replacing the existing L3Harris standby electronic instrument with Garmin’s GI 275. This will make it much more than just a standby instrument by turning the 3-1/8” touchscreen display into a multifunction display useful for displaying traffic, weather, or a moving map.
“Steve and his team was WONDERFUL to work this. They gave me their personal cell phone numbers, meet me on the weekend, and even stayed late.They got all the bugs worked of my autopilot fixed very quickly, that I had been having since anther shop installed it 4 years prior. Im glad I used their services, as they had seen a similar problem before and were able to to get right to the problem.
Prices are great, easy access, and it’s very easy to to fly into Canada. I cant recommend them enough! ”
Marlon
Customer Photos:
