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Got Autopilot?

The morning flight there was uneventful. Not so for the return that afternoon.

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The author's airplane recently returned to service after extensive engine overhauls, but its autopilot is currently inoperable awaiting configuration post-repair.
  • During a challenging return flight from Denver, the author encountered severe thunderstorms, turbulence, and frequent ATC reroutes, requiring intense hand-flying for over an hour.
  • The experience highlighted the critical importance of a functioning autopilot for managing workload, maintaining precision, and enhancing safety in adverse weather conditions.
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For those of you who might be following my tribulations with my airplane, I have an update. The quick backstory is that I needed overhauled engines and it took about six months to get the engines, then another couple months to install them. That’s all done now and I’m again flying the airplane, hoping to quickly rack up enough hours to complete the break in and return to my normal operations.

Meanwhile, I’d had a minor problem with my GFC 600 autopilot controller and it had to be sent back to Garmin for repair. That was completed, but on return the controller needed to be again configured for this installation. That had to wait until I could fly to the shop, and that had to wait for an opening in the shop’s schedule. So, for the moment, I have no working autopilot.

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