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Trio Pro Pilot Install: Budget-Based Effort

Trio’s Pro Pilot digital retrofit autopilot has a generous feature set and straightforward install, but we hoped for tighter vertical-axis performance.

The Pro Pilot control head shown here is the version that fits in a 3-inch ATI instrument cutout. It’s self-contained with no remote flight computers or required instruments, which simplifies installation.

Given their wide-reaching STC approvals, Garmin autopilots have dominated the aftermarket the past few years. But other full-featured autopilots like the dual-axis Trio Avionics Pro Pilot have gotten lost in the noise.

I thought the competitively priced Pro Pilot, originally designed for experimental aircraft, deserved consideration for replacing the aging S-TEC 50 autopilot in my Grumman. And so based on perceived value and its generous standard feature set, I decided to give it a try. Here’s an overview of the system and my experience with its installation.

Gary Bond

Contributor Gary Bond is a composites expert and Technical Fellow for Pratt & Whitney and owns a Grumman Tiger.