Piper Comanche 250...STEC-3100 The most frustrating experience I have ever had in general aviation.
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- First off, a big "Thank You" to Avionics Place in Rockford, IL for diligently working through it all for the last 6 months.
Quick video on the status of the avionics update.
Just saw this and thanks for sharing real world experiences.. Thought I'd add mention that you may have been lucky to escape any potential spare parts pricing challenges had you tried to stay with S-TEC. I had new S-TEC 20 installed in our Comanche 180 in 2018 (more modest budget..) and the little plastic "Push/Mode" knob disintegrated around the set screw in May.. After being sent back to install shop by S-TEC for a part that should have been tossed in an envelope for free by S-TEC, official price quote came in at ~$360 plus shipping.. Parts guy at large install shop was laughing as he read me the quote, and said "I assume you'll find another source?". Thanks to DigiKey, my new solid metal knob at $6.94 plus shipping is performing perfectly..
Isn't it just crazy. Unfortunately all to common. Mike
So good to hear from you, Michael. So sorry to learn of your travails with equipment upgrades. It could happen to anyone, but I can only imagine the disappointment as well as the expense emanating from Stec’s rush to sell a piece of critical equipment-Garmin must be eating their lunch-which they clearly know is not ready for prime time. Other aircraft owners would not be experiencing similar difficulties, were that not so.
Glad to have you back!,
Very sorry to hear of the difficulties. Glad to hear you’re able to get airborne again. Someday I’ll describe to you my frustrations with removal and replacement of both my engines…. 7 months!
I went from my discovery flight... to PPL... to falling in love with the Comanche 250 and binge watching all your videos all in the time that you were grounded. Hope you get back to flying and let me know if you're ever in the Twin Cities and can give a hopeless Comanche fan a ride someday.
At any rate it is nice to get an update from you again Michael 😊
Sorry for your troubles Mike. I’m glad in the end you went with the gfc 500. It is better than any stec offering imo. Plus the controller with dials is much easier. Now you have a full complete autopilot with vnav. I still use ForeFlight and garmin pilot is only for database updates.
Michael, I have been checking monthly to see where you’ve been. Glad to hear your ok. Sorry to hear about the Comanch debacle. Cant wait to see the new yokes and avionics. I got a horror story of my own with my Comanche. Ill wait for the videos! Be safe
Was (sadly) shocked to see on FA that your plane had moved yesterday. What a disaster, but glad the gfc is working. Hope you were able to rent or borrow to keep your skills up during the hiatus. Look forward to seeing some new episodes with you and your exciting upgrades.
Hey Mike! Nice to see you again after 6 months.
Very sad to hear such a bad news about the STEC31, and disappointed about people approving system that doesn't tested yet correctly.
But to be honest, the Garmin's GFC 500 is way more better choice and will approve itself in the flight, especially with the LVL button that could save life!
Pretty sure you will enjoy the new autopilot, and wish you to feel it like rail steady!
Waiting for the new video of the flight test :)
Just wanted to say I enjoyed all your videos. I’m a fellow Comanche owner and it really stinks losing all that time to fly this year. I was down from May to November with a new panel and annual on my 260. I made the decision sometime around July to install the GFC 500 and you’ll love it! I’ll be heading west from Chicago to Cedar Rapids on Wednesday if you’d like to see it and / or go up and see It in action this Wednesday the 22nd.
Hi Gary, Thanks a ton for the offer, but I am going up tomorrow with my instructor, if I took another morning/afternoon off from work, I would have to skip Christmas. :-).
@@pipercomanche2506 Have fun and Merry Christmas!
You're going to love the Garmin Mike.
Hey good to see you back and thanks for the update. How frustrating! I fly a 1967 260B and Im planning to upgrade some of the avionics, itd be good to know what to watch out for. Looking forward to you next update.
Wow! That had to be the most 'frustrating' experience! To make that kind of 'investment' and then be denied the use of your plane for that length of time.. I dunno... Hope the 'Garmin' does you right! Put this behind you and move forward!.. Sounds like experiences I had with mechanics and higher echelon maintenance in the army! We learned to 'stay on 'em'..! Best wishes!
Nice to see you back on line.
Glad to see you back on the “tube” again. I have an Stec-50 in my 260B, was debating between a 3100 with existing servos or a GFC500…………..not debating any more. P.S., if we’re ever talking with ATC at the same time,,,,,use caution, I’m N8928P
Hi John, do you participate in the Thursday night Comanche Zoom meetings?
@@pipercomanche2506 I do not. What is that all about?
@@johngeorg9491 A bunch of us owners and former owners get together on a zoom call sponsored by the Northeast Comanche tribe and learn things, talk about issues with the planes. It’s actually a pretty good use of time. Here is a link to the page. www.quietcornerbands.org/Flight/NeCT/ComancheZOOM.htm
@@pipercomanche2506 sounds good. I will check it out. Thanks Mike
@@pipercomanche2506 I checked out your link Mike. I am familiar with the delphi forum page, but not these zoom meetings, so i look forward to attending. Will certainly try to make the one next week. Thank you
The problem you were having was likely the interface between the GI-275 and the System 3100. That was a pretty new interface. As you know, I was the second Comanche to do a S-Tec System 3100 along with the Comanche 400. I have the G-500TXi and the pair worked perfect from the first flight. The altitude stays within 20 feet at all times. Couples to the glide path perfect. IAS mode works great. Altitude preselect works great. You can see my other RUclips channel called “Avionics Guy” and watch me fly with the system 3100 autopilot. Having said all that, the GFC-500 is a great autopilot and you will be happy with that. I have put several in Comanches. They are a tougher install but Garmin sells solid equipment and hard to go wrong there.
Good to hear you back up and running. I too are upgrading my panel in my Cardinal at Avionics Place. Just delivered it today
Nice, I will see her tomorrow when I pick up mine. :-)
What a frustrating adventure!
So happy to see you!!
Bummer. Improving our 60 year old airframes with today's technology can be a painful and frustrating process.
Dude, what a mess!! Just got my 1960 250 back after 5 months (first annual, upgrades, and tons of avionics) and now with a GFC-500, absolutely love it…. And then last night my tach cable broke! Argh, back into the shop she goes!
Lol....yep when it rains it pours.
The fact that you WANT your piper in MPH tells me all I need to know.
Why is that? I was ready to switch to Knots, I had all my landing speeds refigured in knots, had all my regular and emergency checklist switched. The only reason I was happy I stayed in MPH is my current airspeed indicator was in MPH and I did not want to replace it. If I switched to knots I was going to pull it out and just use the GI-275. Knots or MPH really do not matter as long as you fly the speeds that need to be flown. I have nothing against knots if that is what you are implying, my old plane was in knots its not a big deal one way or another.
I am considering a couple of PA24s that are nearby. In regards to a pre-buy insp. is Popular Grove airmotive in with the other three mentioned in video and comments of your AD discussion inflight/video -Heritage (IL), Webco (KS)and Clifton (Tx)??
Hi Mark, Yes you can use Popular Grove if you request Tim Guntly (used to work at Heritage) as the AP/IA he is the only one I know over there at knows Comanches inside and out. I have heard good things about their engine shop as well.
I've been debating about autopilots, you just made up my mind. I was already leaning toward the GFC 500. It was nice to hear from you again. Missed your posts. Did you make it to Airventure? I spent the whole week there shopping.
Hi John, No I did not make Airventure as a matter of fact, I have never been…I know…I know, I live in the upper Midwest I need to go. :-)
@@pipercomanche2506 Mike, you gotta go - I flew our Archer from Seattle with my son this year and we did the mass arrival with Cherokees to Oshkosh. Had to leave early due to the storm risk but it is just an amazing experience, I'm going again! Now having said that, you were probably in no mood for it but it is total Disneyland for guys like us... So sorry to hear of your issues and feel for you big time! Totally excited to see the new set up.
@@scottwoodman7246 Hi Scott, I know I have to go and will one day. :-). Today I spent part of the day cleaning the plane as it has flown or sat for 6 months and no one cleaned anything but the windshield. It was giving me the heebee Jeebees. :-)
What a debacle!
Just curious, did you have to pay for any of the wasted hours installing testing and removing the STEC? If not, I wonder if STEC reimbursed your installer for all their time.
Hi Rsowder, I only ended up paying for the fuel that was used. STEC is reimbursing the shop under a warranty claim. All in all STEC tried, it was just not ready.
@@pipercomanche2506 Ok, that's good to hear. Hope you like the Garmin :)
Lesson: Always go Garmin.
Oh man! This sounds like a nightmare experience!
So at the end of the day what did you end up adding to the airplane? Did you get any benefit at all out of not having your airplane for 6 months? Do you have no autopilot now?
Hi 1dullgeek, Put in a GFC500 autopilot in lieu of the STEC-3100. No I have sat here for 6 months while this has been going on. Have a good weekend.
@@pipercomanche2506 ugh!
Really sorry to hear about all this. I am having a gfc500 installed on my Comanche 250 and I am supposed to pick it up next week. How did stec pass certification tests for Comanche in the first place?? almost sounds like they were doing their first certification tests on your aircraft.
Hi Baris, I think they got it approved on the 400 and then the FAA gave them approval for the less powerful airframes. I don’t know the rest of the testing regime. They will get it, I just did not want to be the dude that paid for it.
Hi buddy!! I need landing gear light repair, Comanche Piper, do you know where I can get the micro switch? MS25008-1, I'm from Argentina. Greetings
Hi Manuel, I would start out with Webco here www.webcoaircraft.com/
If you do not have any luck, you can try Matt Kurke at Comanche Gear comanchegear.com/ it might be awhile with Matt as I think he is recovering from a medical issue.
Worse comes to worse try the salvage yards they might have one you can get on the cheap. Here is a list of them I put together when I was looking for Yokes.
Texas Air Salvage -
Air salvage of Dallas
Preferred AirParts
Dawson Aircraft
Dodson
White Aircraft Industries
Wentworth
Select Airparts
KRN
Piper Dealer Muncie Aviation 800-289-7141
MTW Aerospace Parts
France contact@france.aero.com
Best of luck.
Mike
While I don't know much about plane avionics, I like learning about technology, cos I like science and tech. The moral of the story is either the tech fails, or the people who installed the technology didn't do their job... Lol
You mean owning a certified aircraft, has been the most frustrating experience writ large. Experimental is my off ramp. Screw this antiquey nonsense.
Wow, this whole story is just so damn crazy! I would have gone absolutely ape s*** on these people! Are you still having to pay for all the time where they did install the system that doesn't work and then of course the time needed to uninstall it and put in KFC
Yep, it was not fun. Fortunately Avionics Place did a great job handling everything.
Very disappointing indeed. SMH