2
2.0
General Information
The EZ Pilot is a small, solid state aircraft autopilot system designed exclusively for
experimental aircraft and is to be used for VFR operations only. This autopilot is not
certified and is not suitable or approved for installation in a normally certificated aircraft.
The EZ Pilot is a single axis autopilot that controls the roll axis for aircraft attitude correction (wing
leveling) and provides area navigation using signals provided by an external GPS receiver. It is
composed of two units, the control/display unit and the roll servo.
The EZ Pilot does not contain a built-in GPS or other navigation data source. You must supply
an appropriate host GPS source and be correctly connected to the Display Head at the time of
installation. (See the Installation Instructions later in this manual.)
The EZ Pilot uses a solid-state inertial rate sensor for attitude stabilization. It uses elements of
the host GPS digital data stream for the navigation function. It accepts either a NMEA 0183,
V2.XX stream format or the Aviation Link format for navigation guidance.
While the EZ Pilot is an excellent “wing leveler,” it finds its greatest strength following a flight plan
that is active on a host GPS. This can be as simple as a “GOTO” command on the GPS, or a
complex, multi-segment flight plan.
Three navigation modes are provided that allow the pilot to follow a selected GPS course or flight
plan.
1. Track mode (TRK
)
–
used for area navigation tracking a host GPS flight plan (or
GOTO data).
Note:
The EZ Pilot also uses the GPS derived information to monitor the inertial sensor performance
and provides automatic corrections to the sensor data to correct for drift due to thermal shifts and
inherent sensor drift and noise errors. The EZ Pilot has a flash based EEPROM memory that is
updated automatically with the most current dynamic calibration information during each flight.
WPT
WPT
WPT
WPT
Important Warning
Do not use the autopilot to attempt GPS approaches, even though your GPS may provide
this feature. The EZ Pilot is intended to be an aid to en route navigation only.
The Servo should always be disengaged when initiating the landing checklist at altitude.
