cessna 182 electric trim

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stapler101

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stapler101
Will someone point me in the right direction?
I am looking for info on installing electric trim on my 182.
I can find lots of info about electric trim but not about options, prices, etc.

thanks
 
Tell us more about the plane - does it have an autopilot already and, if so, which one?
 
Why bother? There are far better things to spend money on. I have electric trim on my 210, but never use it (primarily because it disconnects the autopilot (Century III) if I do. After flying the Cardinal RG for years (which did not have electric trim), reaching for the manual trim wheel is instinctive (and does not turn off the autopilot).

Just my $0.02.

Wells
 
To me, electric trim in an aircraft is like power windows in a car. Once you own one of these systems it's hard to go back to the manual version.

Electric trim also add a bonus should you elect to upgrade to an autopilot with altitude hold. Electric trim manages altitude hold perfectly, while altitude hold without electric trim is managed through beeps in your headset and manually adjusting the trim wheel. Sure, folks do it all the time but it is awful nice when the system handles it for you.

As was pointed out earlier, S-Tec makes a dedicated electric trim for most aircraft. Should you move into a full-blown autopilot later, you are already on the right track.
 
jimbtv said:
To me, electric trim in an aircraft is like power windows in a car. Once you own one of these systems it's hard to go back to the manual version.

Electric trim also add a bonus should you elect to upgrade to an autopilot with altitude hold. Electric trim manages altitude hold perfectly, while altitude hold without electric trim is managed through beeps in your headset and manually adjusting the trim wheel. Sure, folks do it all the time but it is awful nice when the system handles it for you.

As was pointed out earlier, S-Tec makes a dedicated electric trim for most aircraft. Should you move into a full-blown autopilot later, you are already on the right track.
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I find the altitude hold on the 182's I fly with autopilot wonderful. I have a KAP140 autopilot on the 182's I fly. One even has altitude capture, though I actually find that it tends to blow through the altitude. The one without capture grabs it nicely (within 50') when I hit the "Alt" button when we arrive at the desired altitude. I will say that I find the wheel a little more precise when I'm setting the trim manually.
 
gprellwitz said:
I find the altitude hold on the 182's I fly with autopilot wonderful. I have a KAP140 autopilot on the 182's I fly. One even has altitude capture, though I actually find that it tends to blow through the altitude. The one without capture grabs it nicely (within 50') when I hit the "Alt" button when we arrive at the desired altitude. I will say that I find the wheel a little more precise when I'm setting the trim manually.
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Oh, I am not arguing against Altitude Hold. I LOVE Altitude Hold. Both the STEC in the Cardinal and the Century III in the 210 have Altitude Hold. Electric trim is not necessary to have Altitude Hold. Even though the 210 is supposed to be able to capture Glideslope, I use the autopilot like I did the more simple (and reliable!) one in the Cardinal: I let the a/p handle the horizontal tracking. I am responsible for the up/down: power/pitch/trim to go up or down. . . for level flight I adjust these things, trim for level, and then engage the Alt Hold feature. Works for me.

Wells
 
W. Stewart said:
Oh, I am not arguing against Altitude Hold. I LOVE Altitude Hold. Both the STEC in the Cardinal and the Century III in the 210 have Altitude Hold. Electric trim is not necessary to have Altitude Hold. Even though the 210 is supposed to be able to capture Glideslope, I use the autopilot like I did the more simple (and reliable!) one in the Cardinal: I let the a/p handle the horizontal tracking. I am responsible for the up/down: power/pitch/trim to go up or down. . . for level flight I adjust these things, trim for level, and then engage the Alt Hold feature. Works for me.

Wells
Click to expand...
Maybe I don't understand, but it sounds to me like you're having to adjust trim based on input from the autopilot. That's not what I think of as altitude hold. I wasn't aware of autopilots that would automatically adjust the trim when you don't have electric trim.
 
gprellwitz said:
Maybe I don't understand, but it sounds to me like you're having to adjust trim based on input from the autopilot. That's not what I think of as altitude hold. I wasn't aware of autopilots that would automatically adjust the trim when you don't have electric trim.
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When I had my Cessna 310Q it had a Cessna 400A autopilot and no electric trim (it was a factory option). However the autopilot would adjust the trim while in pitch mode or altitude hold.

My 337 has the same autopilot but has the electric trim installed.
 
Rotor&Wing said:
When I had my Cessna 310Q it had a Cessna 400A autopilot and no electric trim (it was a factory option). However the autopilot would adjust the trim while in pitch mode or altitude hold.

My 337 has the same autopilot but has the electric trim installed.
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Thanks, I didn't know that. How does that work (it it can be explained quickly and simply for a mechanical neophyte)?
 
gprellwitz said:
Thanks, I didn't know that. How does that work (it it can be explained quickly and simply for a mechanical neophyte)?
Click to expand...


Essentially it's an electric trim without the "pickle switch" on the yoke. The altitude compensator in the autopilot computer gives the command to trim the elevator while in altitude hold, and the pitch command wheel on the autopilot controller commands pitch.

I never understood on my 310 why someone would order the 400A autopilot but not the electric trim. I never really missed it just thought it was an oddity.

My 337 has the electric trim but I rarely use it, instead opting for the manual trim.
 
gprellwitz said:
Maybe I don't understand, but it sounds to me like you're having to adjust trim based on input from the autopilot. That's not what I think of as altitude hold. I wasn't aware of autopilots that would automatically adjust the trim when you don't have electric trim.
Click to expand...

The S-TEC 50 we have has "UP" and "DN" lights on it to tell the pilot to re-trim if it's having trouble holding altitude. It is still altitude hold, you just have to have the trim reasonably close.

Then there is an electric trim option that does NOT have what you're thinking of as electric trim, but it does have electric trim: The autopilot can adjust it, but there's no switch for the pilot.

Finally, they have a "manual electric trim" option, which kinda sounds like an oxymoron, but it adds the yoke switch for the pilot to adjust the trim electrically.
 
My Bo has electric trim (pickle switch on the yoke), and the S-Tec 30 has the "up /down trim" lights with a loud beeping annunciator, but the actual trimming still must be done by the pilot, whether electric or manual.

I don't much use the electric trim, prefer the feedback and practice of tweaking it manually. YMMV.
 
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