Best method to disengage STEC 30 auto pilot?

[jimmyjack]

Playing with the AP on the ground, engine off, you can hear the servos move and sort of gain a better understanding of what's going on behind the scenes. Screwing around, I allowed the servo to take the ailerons to full deflection, hearing them strain even more against the stops.

Noticing this, I quickly hit the Disengage button and was surprised to hear a slamming sound as it released. I'm guessing it was the servo backing off the strained cable, creating a nasty noise.

In the air, you wouldn't hear this and never know. On the ground, it's very disconcerting.

• Is the AP system designed to handle this? Are the control cables?

Flying around, we understand that you may have to disengage the AP at any time. Perhaps the AP is going wonky, maybe you need to hand fly due to turbulence. Sometimes disengaging an AP under full deflection, or rather, under a lot of stress cannot be avoided, but

• Is there a better way to disengage? Try to get to straight and level flight? Or, does it simply not matter?

 

[James331]

That is what the disengage button is for.

That's how I do it with my stec 30

 

[Tarheelpilot]

 

[Clark1961]

For normal flight the autopilot exerts no more force on the controls than you do. How often do you go to the stops while in flight?

From a load point of view it doesn’t matter what the autopilot is doing when disconnected.