Author Topic: C185 autopilot  (Read 5077 times)

John

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C185 autopilot
« on: June 05, 2016, 08:47:42 PM »
I finally broke down and bought an airplane, Carenado C185 Skywagon (seems everyone has one).  It's a great plane but I don't like the autopilot. :(  I drive with autopilot a lot of the time.  Does anyone know of an addon autoplilot that would work on this bird?  ;)

John

jeff3163

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2016, 10:40:47 PM »
Hi John,
     I see what you mean.  This is the default AP for the C185.  The 300A Navomatic:



     Below is my autopilot of choice.  I use it in almost all my planes.  It is easy to use, and works a treat.  ;)

---->    gauge00=Minipnl!AUTOPILOT F-111,  36,470,117,40

     It is located in a file called Minipnl.cab.  If you don't have it, you can get it here-

--->Dropbox Link:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/mhmi7fua6eyddod/MiniPnl.zip?dl=0

This is what it looks like:


Here is MY NavStack popup panel.: (this is my C185 panel ;) )  AP is at the bottom.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2016, 12:24:27 AM by jeff3163 »

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John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2016, 03:16:23 AM »
Jeff, that is great, thanks a lot  ;D.  But I need instructions along with it  :-[.  I can do it if I'm told where to put what  ::).

John

jeff3163

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2016, 08:14:25 AM »
Hi John,
     I'll have to get back to you on this, after work tonight.  Sorry.   :'(  (5pm PST)

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John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2016, 01:48:18 PM »
Hi John,
     I'll have to get back to you on this, after work tonight.  Sorry.   :'(  (5pm PST)




Not a problem   8)

John

jeff3163

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2016, 08:49:42 PM »
Hi John,
     Ok, I am home and fed.  Now if I can just stay awake long enough to ... zzzzzz. 

     Just kidding.  Let's get that AP installed.  I don't know which version you prefer.  I like the amphibians.  Open the folder for the Carenado C185F Amphibian.  Inside you will find the folder called "panel".  Open that folder.  In there is a file called "panel.cfg".  Make a backup copy of it in a safe place,rename it panel.off or zip it up into a zip file.
     Then click this link (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gveit7ynf61lpzb/CarenadoC185FAmphib_panelwithNavStack.zip?dl=0) to acquire a copy of my panel.cfg.  Open the zip file.  Drag/drop the panel.cfg and place it there.  This gives you that "NavStack" panel that I showed above.
     Here is a link to the Avidyne terrain gauge at the top of the panel.  --->  https://www.dropbox.com/s/xcr3b41wir43i6y/EX500_C90.zip?dl=0
The gauge goes into your gauges folder of your sim.  So does the minipnl.cab file.
     The wind gauge belongs to the Deltasim Capricorn motor yacht.  If you don't have that, that's ok.  I can't distribute that one. 
      When you go flying, call up panel 4 to open the navigation panel.  (shift+4, I think)  ;)

Let me know if you need further instructions.

ps- This is the easiest method, because the Carenado C185F has 19 panels, and is a payware creation.  This is the least "intrusive" way to add some gauges without actually changing any of the original model. (much)
« Last Edit: June 08, 2016, 07:30:36 AM by jeff3163 »

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John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2016, 11:52:42 PM »
Wow, thanks Jeff  ;D.  I'll put it all together and let you know how it all turns out  ;).

John

John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2016, 07:06:35 PM »
Hi Jeff, everything went well  ;D I now have a good AP on the C185 and a GPS500  8).  Not familiar with the Avidyne and have no instructions  ???.  Wondering how to use minipnl.cab in other acft  ;).  Thanks for everything  :).

John

PS: I too like the amphibians  8)

jeff3163

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2016, 08:09:21 PM »
Hi John,
     Ah, the Avidyne terrain gauge.  It is a beautiful piece of work.  If you click on the right side of the left radio button once, it will switch to a TAWS gauge, or terrain awareness warning system.  Fly at 1500' above the terrain and it shows a relief of the land ahead of you.  It shows hills and valley contours, and any that are higher than your 1500 foot clearance turn red.  It helps you avoid mountains.  There are other features, but this one is the star attraction.  The right side radio button will zoom the map/TAWS in or out.  Spend some time pressing buttons and figuring it out.  I don't have a manual for it, but it's easy enough to learn.  In map mode, you can press one of the buttons on the right side to make it a color terrain map, that also displays your flightplan.  Enjoy.   ;)

To use the autopilot in other aircraft, you need to edit that plane's panel.cfg file.  Replace the AP gauge with the minipnl gauge.  For example, the autopilot of the Beach Baron 58 is part of the radio stack.  See gauge 6 of the radio stack ends in AP.  In that line, change the gauge name only, from Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio AP to Minipnl!AUTOPILOT F-111.  If some adjustment is needed to make the new gauge fit, adjust the numbers.  They are screen coordinates of the gauge.  I use a program called "FS Panel Studio" to work with my gauges.  It's much easier than manually editing files.  (once you learn the program, that is.)

---->    gauge06=Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio AP, 0, 262
---->    gauge06=Minipnl!AUTOPILOT F-111, 0, 262
« Last Edit: June 08, 2016, 08:27:31 PM by jeff3163 »

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John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2016, 02:02:47 AM »
Gosh Jeff, I really appreciate the time and effort you put in to explain all this to me  ;D.  I'll play with Avidyne 'til I figure it out  ;).  The AP will be fun to work with.  I have edited panel.cfg a lot, mostly with groundhandling  :).  BTW, I noticed you don't use groundhandling on your C185.  All you guys do a great service helping us guys that don't know as much about this tweaking stuff 8).

John

jeff3163

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2016, 07:28:28 AM »
I do use groundhandling on a lot of my planes.  I just haven't put it into my C185 yet.  I don't really fly it much actually.  I have a Beaver that I fly 99% of the time.   ;)  I'm glad to hear you're familiar with editing your cfg's.  Fly safe.   8)

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John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2017, 10:53:50 PM »
Hi Jeff,
I've put your "Nav_Stack_Panel" in the panel.cfg of my Super Cub I just purchased  ;D.  It comes up with Shift+4.  Since the Cub didn't come with an AP what else do I need to do to get the new AP to work  ???

John

Penzoil3

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2017, 11:26:23 PM »
 Assuming you are talking the Flight Replica Super Cub package-
 Open the aircraft config file. Look for these lines- change the zeros to ones, and save the file. (aircraft.cfg)

[autopilot]
autopilot_available= 0
flight_director_available= 0

 Do this for each of the Super Cubs aircraft config files. That should do it.
 Sue

John

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2017, 11:49:28 PM »
Cool 8), thank you, Sue  :)

jeff3163

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Re: C185 autopilot
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2017, 11:49:28 PM »
Hi John,
     Sue (aka Jeff) is showing you how to activate the autopilot in the plane's aircraft.cfg file.  When the sim sees the autopilot is active it will fill out the rest of the autopilot section with the particulars of pitch, roll, yaw, and other parameters autopilots use.  Open the aircraft.cfg and scroll down to the [autopilot] section.  Do as Sue describes, changing the "0" to a "1" for those lines and as she says, "that should do it"!  ;)   

     Thanks Sue.  I couldn't have said it better.  ;)

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