Capability
Flight Control & Autopilot
Autopilot and flight guidance equipment — including out-of-production computers other shops decline as unsupportable.
Overview
What we see, and what we do.
Autopilot faults are the ones operators dread, because the system spans the whole aircraft: a computer, a set of servos, the sensors feeding it and the wiring between all of them. Any one of those can produce the same symptom, and swapping the most expensive box first is a common and expensive mistake.
This is also where obsolescence bites hardest. A flight control computer that is out of production and off the repair lists is routinely treated as the end of the system, when it is often a repairable unit. Requalifying one is a fraction of the cost of replacing everything it talks to.
Equipment We Service
- Autopilot Computer
- Flight Control Computer
- Flight Guidance Computer
- Yaw Damper Computer
- Autopilot Servo Actuator
- Trim Servo
- Autopilot Mode Controller
- Altitude Preselector
- Accelerometer
Faults We See Most
- Autopilot disconnecting without annunciation
- Hunting or oscillation in a held mode
- Failing to capture or track a course
- Mode annunciation disagreeing with behaviour
- Servo slipping or failing to drive
- Unit declared unsupportable by the manufacturer
Recognise one of these? Describe what was observed rather than what you think has failed — it is frequently a different unit.
Common Questions
Flight Control & Autopilot,
asked in practice.
- The autopilot disconnects without annunciation. Where do we start?
- Not with the computer. The system spans sensors, servos, the computer and the wiring between them, and any one of them produces this symptom. Swapping the most expensive box first is a common and expensive mistake — isolate the fault before removing anything.
- We have been told the computer is unsupportable. Is that final?
- Often not. Unsupportable usually means the manufacturer has stopped supporting it, which is a commercial decision rather than a technical verdict on the hardware. It is worth a second opinion before accepting a full system replacement for one failed unit.
Next Step
Flight Control & Autopilot on the bench?
Send us the part number.
Tell us the aircraft, the symptom and the number on the dataplate. We will confirm whether we service it and what the options are.