Honeywell acquired Tru-Trak Flight Systems, to establish a series of autopilots for experimental and certified aircraft. The acquisition will become part of Honeywell’s BendixKing business unit.
Tru-Trak Flight Systems has a well-known and regarded line of affordable autopilots for a wide range of aircraft. As part of the transition, the current CEO and owner of Tru-Trak, Andrew Barker, will join BendixKing’s executive team to continue to drive the product line forward. Founder Jim Younkin passed away on May 13, 2019.
The xCruze 100 will serve the experimental aircraft market, and is designed to interface with multiple EFIS installations. The unit comes in three different form factors to fit in a 2-inch round, 3-inch round, or flat pack panel insertion. An emergency autopilot level button comes standard, bringing the aircraft wings level, and it will connect with either a hand-held or a panel-mount GPS.
The AeroCruze 100 will help owners of Cessna 172, 175, 177, and Piper PA-28 aircraft to update their legacy autopilots to a new system. The unit is designed to work seamlessly with the AeroVue touch EFIS as well as those EFISs from a variety of other manufacturers. It too comes in the three form factors, and has an automatic roll command function to correct the bank angle if it exceeds 45 degrees. Pricing was not disclosed; Tru-Trak has sold similar autopilots for experiemental aircraft from $2,100, and for certified aircraft from $5,000.
