Century III Autopilot?

[Jhogan0101]

Anyone have any experience with this type?
I have one installed on my plane currently but im not sure if it works or is worth pursuing.
I was told the amplifier needs to be fixed and tested.

[edasmus]

I've been flying with my Century III since I purchased my C337G in 2002. It did not work particularly well when I purchased the airplane. David Wright at the Avionics Place in Rockford, IL spent time cleaning connections and making various other adjustments and I have not had to service it since that I can recall. Works quite well, not perfectly but I give it a solid A minus.

Recently a gentleman here at the Aurora Airport (KARR) just purchased a Turbo Piper Lance with a Century III. It did not function at all and Lumanair removed the servos, control head, mode selector etc., and sent to Autopilot Central in Tulsa, OK. I believe the owner spent about $5000 and Lumanair reinstalled all the serviced components. The owner asked me to fly the plane and run the auto-pilot through the paces as he was not familiar with it's operation. It worked beautifully in all modes. So I'd say it is definitely serviceable. Whether it is worth the investment or not has many opinions I'm sure but it is an option.

I'm not a fan of allowing 35+ year old technology couple to the glide slope and manipulate the pitch trim, but the system will do it. My technique is to allow the system to track the final approach course (which it does nicely if the cross wind isn't horrendous) and I'll manage the glide slope myself. Just my technique....

Good Luck,

Ed

[mshac]

It boils down to economics - yes, you can get your Century III fixed, likely for less than $5k, but will you trust it? A new autopilot is gonna be at least $15k. Or hand-fly and put the saving into actually flying places.