The supplemental type certificate process that the Experimental Aircraft Association pioneered in 2016 has set the stage for another success story, as EAA affiliate EAA STC, LLC has received an STC for installation kits for the TruTrak Vizion autopilot in a select group of aircraft.
The STC approval means that installation brackets and hardware for the TruTrak autopilot can be installed for the Vizion autopilot in Cessna 172 (F through R models) and all Cessna 177s. TruTrak received its parts manufacturing approval for the Vizion autopilot on April 3.
“At the Sun ’n Fun Fly-In last year, EAA, the FAA, and Dynon showed how bringing affordable safety equipment from the homebuilt community into the cockpits of general aviation aircraft was possible and affordable,” said Sean Elliott, EAA’s vice president of advocacy and safety. “Several avionics manufacturers have seen the possibilities since that time, with TruTrak stepping forward to find a way to get affordable autopilot technology into some of the most popular GA airplanes. It shows what can happen when entities work together to discover what can be accomplished.”
The EAA STC for the TruTrak installation kits will be available as the remainder of the Vizion autopilot approval nears its completion this summer. TruTrak is selling the installation kits during this year’s Sun ’n Fun Fly-In, which includes all required mounting brackets, AN hardware and a free wiring harness. TruTrak and EAA also continue their work on a remainder of the Vizion autopilot approval, with a target date of this summer.
“Approval of the EAA STC and our facility PMA are two huge steps forward in this certification process,” said Andrew Barker, TruTrak CEO. “It has been a pleasure working with EAA and the FAA on this project, and we are eager to keep this momentum pushing forward and fishing the rest of the approvals by summer.”
