I got out to the hangar for a little while on Friday, and found one wiring error on the autopilot. The roll servo would engage after fixing that error, but it wouldn't respond to left or right commands from the control head. I called Trio tech support after they opened (they are in California, three time zones away). Their support guy identified the problem very quickly. I'm using my original Navaid Devices roll servo, which is compatible with the Trio autopilot. But, Trio doesn't provide a wiring diagram showing how to hookup the Navaid servo to their autopilot. I contacted Trio a few weeks ago by e-mail, and one of the owners described how the Navaid servo needed to be connected to the autopilot control head. But, it turns out that he gave me bad info. Or maybe I misinterpreted what he sent me. The tech support guy said that I needed to move one wire to a different pin in the connector at the autopilot.

I spent much of Saturday at the hangar, working on the autopilot wiring. First I fixed the roll servo wiring, and tested it. It worked perfectly now. I also connected the pitch servo, and tested it too. Next I hooked up the disconnect button from the control stick. That was a bit of a job, as I needed to move two wires on the relay that did the same job for the old Navaid wing leveler, and that relay was a bit of a trick to reach. But I got it done, and the disconnect button works.

As it sits now, all the autopilot wiring is complete, except for the disconnect aural tone input into the audio panel. I need to open up the intercom connector to see if it has removable pins, or if the wires are soldered to the pins. If the wires are soldered I'll drop the idea of hooking up the aural input from the autopilot, as I'm afraid I'd cook the connector and have to redo the whole thing. I need to hookup the pitot and static lines to the autopilot, and then I need to put the seats and rear baggage compartment back in. Then I'd be ready to fly again, if only I had four good cylinders.