I ordered a bunch of stuff in late April for a full panel on my Commander. How long of delays are others seeing for the STEC 3100 AP, Garmin TXI Displays and GTN750XI's? I'm sure its bad but hoping to try to figure a better time when my plane will have an autopilot that works. Last delivery date on 3100 I heard was September, then October now late December and I don't get updated unless I ask and then only get what seems like an answer that sounds like they really have no clue when to expect anything.

Are others delayed too?

Dates are definitely fluid. I would plan the equipment will arrive in 6-8 months, and that’s likely to be accurate. It could slip to be longer, it’s hard to know for sure. Last I heard, the Garmin GTX345 is over a year out!

Garmin says currently 6 months, but units ordered by my shop mid-March are showing up this week (7 1/2 mo).

Handed the shop a check for the 3100 and two G500Txis (already had a GTN750Txi in the panel) first week of December 2021; final delivery of last part of the autopilot kit from that order was in June. Garmin was experiencing "supply chain problems" too but not as bad as S-Tec. And I think it was the standby GI-275s that were the last Garmin items delivered from the original order. Those are evidently very popular and in short supply even without supply chain problems.

Garmin at Oshkosh said they were no longer experiencing lengthy delays shipping 275s.

It could be worse. My shop decided they wanted the second check to start work on the airplane even though they didn't have all the parts on hand. They thought the delay would only be a couple of weeks, not several months. So I got to sit AOG through all the delays.

Be grateful you've got an airplane. And yes, you'll be pleased with the 3100 if the shop knows how to level the airplane. It works very nicely with the Txi and GTN. Quite a step up from the KFC200 I junked.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case.

Former airplane partner, now hangar neighbor, ordered dual 275's in June and was told to expect December.

STEC is backed up at least 9 months. We’ve been waiting since April for a 3100 autopilot. The shop sold us one they had for another plane that was delayed for other reasons, and now we are stuck waiting for the VNAV bezel upgrade with no firm ETA.

I'm a late March order for GTN 750/650

December 2021 order for G600 TXi

The GTNs came in, but the G600 GDU display and a G600 install kit is still 6-8 weeks out.

I'll be close to a year.

STEC is so bad I can't get even a guess. I was an earlier adopter of the 3100 for my 310. I like the AP. I wish I could get the VNAV bezel. I have all the right stuff in my panel, STEC can't deliver. I don't get it. I called the head of support again. She said I was on top of the list. My mistake not asking which list...

D.

I’ve got an appointment for a 3100 install in January. Between waiting for the parts and then a time slot - it will be 14 months since ordering and also over 3 years of hand flying since I cancelled the first appointment when Covid hit and then wasting time waiting for Dynon and the FAA to get their act together. Can’t wait.

If this is for an aircraft that can use any other autopilot I would most certainly cancel your order. The 3100 is not a good autopilot. It wanders like a drunk sailor, has awful feedback loops, and is super aggressive with pitch changes. I fly for a living. It’s the worst autopilot I’ve ever flown.

If this is for an aircraft that can use any other autopilot I would most certainly cancel your order. The 3100 is not a good autopilot. It wanders like a drunk sailor, has awful feedback loops, and is super aggressive with pitch changes. I fly for a living. It’s the worst autopilot I’ve ever flown.

Have any of the manufacturers commented specifically on the source of their delays? I find it odd that Wall Street Journal is full of recent articles where semiconductor companies are hunkered for a long winter; yet, downstream businesses can’t get their product built. Where is the incompetent link Garmin?

I was told the same 4 months ago from the lead tech at a reputable shop we used for our 3100 install.

“Sounds like the 414 you flew has an install issue.”
“Just need to adjust the cable tensions.”
“It will get better over time.”
“The next software update will fix it.”

It’s an engineering mess. In the past 30 days I’ve flown 4 different planes. Only the 3100 autopilot is God awful. The two Garmin and one King from 1971 are fabulous. Another month in the shop and 10s of AMUs might fix our 3100. We will see.

I took an autopilot design course in 1991 while in electrical engineering school. Dr Buck Brown worked on avionics systems for decades. Some of the worst feedback loops he described in class are exactly what I’ve experienced on both 3100 autopilots I’ve flown. The system over corrects and then gets further and further away from the desired course.

Yeah, Mike - I disagree. And my shop even messed up the 3100 install - it won't properly do enroute VNAV which is one of the GTN750Txi's capabilities. But that's a wiring issue the shop messed up, not the 3100. They did level my airplane correctly. I see none of the Dutch roll or porpoising issues with the 3100 that others in King Airs and turbine Malibus and you in your 414 have seen. It's solid.

Give Genesys a knock for releasing the 3100 maybe too early. But if you have the correct software rev level and the shop has done the initial calibration properly - there's nothing wrong with the autopilot. Since I can set climbs / descents to rate, IAS, or pitch I have no idea how you're encountering "super aggressive" pitch changes. Is that after a mode change or vertical guidance on approach?

And the OP doesn't have to worry about the latest V1.4 software or the VNAV bezel since his box is yet to be delivered.

PS I do not have a dog in the hunt other than I am grateful to Genesys for STCing a digital autopilot for a TC Garmin chooses to ignore. Having lived with a KFC200 for 25 years and King radio's attitude towards "customer service" I will never ever buy another product from that company.

Well George, this last one I’m flying is in a twin Commander. This isn’t a no name shop, it’s a major TC repair shop. They signed it off as perfect and it is a mess. You must have gotten lucky.

And this wasn’t just one plane…a close friend is a pilot for another TC shop and he has confirmed that the 3100 is God awful compared to just about every other autopilot he’s flown.

Congratulations on finding the one good 3100 install.