Gyro initializes itself?
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Is it normal that when the direction gyro is far off from magnetic, like 180 degrees or nearly so, that it appears to automatically initialize itself when turning on avionics, and correctly choose the magnetic heading? Afterward it does drift as expected, but I wouldn't expect it to ever auto init and move itself if it isn't a slaved gyro. For the record yes I have gyro drift enabled, and no assists or AI things turned on.
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Is it normal that when the direction gyro is far off from magnetic, like 180 degrees or nearly so, that it appears to automatically initialize itself when turning on avionics, and correctly choose the magnetic heading? Afterward it does drift as expected, but I wouldn't expect it to ever auto init and move itself if it isn't a slaved gyro. For the record yes I have gyro drift enabled, and no assists or AI things turned on.
@rinkerbuck I have it initialize to the correct heading if you load the flight with engines running (in air or on runway), but the offset is randomly generated otherwise. Of course, when the gyro spins up, it will stabilize on this random heading. If you saw this once, it may have been by chance. If you feel that you have seen it happen many times after an apron start, just let me know
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@rinkerbuck I have it initialize to the correct heading if you load the flight with engines running (in air or on runway), but the offset is randomly generated otherwise. Of course, when the gyro spins up, it will stabilize on this random heading. If you saw this once, it may have been by chance. If you feel that you have seen it happen many times after an apron start, just let me know
@Black-Square I have a question regarding the offset. Isn’t it a bit excessive with each new flight? I believe that typical movement is about 12 to 15 degrees per hour right? I usually reset it every 15 minutes or so while in flight with the magnetic compass however, every time I start a new flight it’s more than 90 degrees, if not more, off. Just wondering if that much drift is correct?
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@Black-Square I have a question regarding the offset. Isn’t it a bit excessive with each new flight? I believe that typical movement is about 12 to 15 degrees per hour right? I usually reset it every 15 minutes or so while in flight with the magnetic compass however, every time I start a new flight it’s more than 90 degrees, if not more, off. Just wondering if that much drift is correct?
@iflygary Depends how your aircraft was maneuvered after shutdown. If you shut down the aircraft and don't touch it until restarting it again, then it would remain on approximately the same heading. If your aircraft is towed after shutdown, or maneuvered in and out of a hangar, it will be pseudorandom. I've heard advice over the years to not tow and maneuver an aircraft until the gyros have fully stopped spinning, but I think the general consensus is that this is excessive and impractical.
