Installing a Century 3 or another legacy autopilot seems foolish. I've kept fixing mine Altimatic V / FCS810, flies nice. Thanks Bob.

I keep eye out for spare parts to keep on hand.

An Aztec took me once. I ran along side and jumped in next time. After I figured out what it was all about, I didn’t care who was taking pictures of me and my ride. Don’t be shy, jump inside. Fat girls need lovin too

The main reliability issues with the C-III and it's Piper sibling are:
1) Connectors. Edo Aire used a bunch of inline connectors in the harness that tend to lose contact force on the female pin side over time. This often leads to multiple intermittent issues that can be hard to find and fix. Two solutions exist, you can replace some or all of the female connectors with a newer version which has better performance or you can "tweak" the female sockets while they're in the housing with a pick and treat them with some deOxit.
2) The servos use a tiny brushed dc motor and when the brush debris builds up and/or the brushes wear out the servo behavior tends to make the autopilot oscillate in pitch or roll. Having the servos rebuilt at a cost of $1000-2000 is the most common solution.
3) The "Computer" (servo motor drives and filters) has not overcurrent protection so if a servo gets overloaded the output transistors fail (saving the motor). Replacing the transistors and any collaterally damaged components is fairly inexpensive.
4) There are capacitors in the console, computer, and GS adapter which will eventually dry out and lose capacitance. This is tedious work but the replacement capacitors are cheap.
5) An early version of the computer was built with a circuit board that used "griplets" (hollow rivets) to tie traces on each side of the board together and these will inevitably break loose and cause intermittent problems. Replacement computers with a newer board that's made with plated through holes are usually available on the used marked at a reasonable price.

These autopilots are pretty capable, especially when combined with GPSS. What they lack in that case is vertical speed and airspeed modes along with altitude pre-select and of those altitude pre-select & capture is the only one that really reduces the pilot's workload. There's no envelope protection which is more of a safety issue than a workload reducer.

On the plus side, these autopilots are simple enough that they are easy to troubleshoot and repair and full maintenance documentation is readily available.

I just bought this old C model to part out. It is kind of a shame to take apart a non wrecked Aztec with no corrosion but it sat abandoned in a hangar for years and didn’t come with logs or chain of title. It has lots of good parts and at least nothing will be wasted. It will help keep the rest of the fleet in service longer.

A truck pulling an AzTruck

Here is Jack Murdock.....co-founder of Tektronix in his Aztec Nomad. This was the first one. He had "Scotty" Clayton Scott, at the Renton Airport build it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Jack_Murdock
https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/clayton-scott-1905-2006-longtime-aviator-bill-1215915.php

Southern Seaplane outside New Orleans has a Nomad, pretty cool.

https://digitaleditions.walsworth.com/p ... cleBrowser

I’m narrowing down my search for an Aztec and have discovered that insurance won’t even quote me without the MEL. I get it I suppose. I’ve also considered buying the plane and having my CFI / friend listed as the only pilot on the policy until I get the rating. Not sure how that would work. I wouldn’t be PIC / solo until after the check ride.

Looking at options for an accelerated MEL rating course relatively close to me. Within a few hundred NM of northeast Arkansas is preferable if I have to travel more than once.

Any suggestions for MEL instructors? A bonus would be if it were in an Aztec / Apache. I’ve already sent an email to Wings of Eagles in Smyrna TN which gets good reviews. They don’t have an Aztec that I see. Travelair, would suffice.

Doesn’t Sporty’s have an Aztec?

They do, that was my multi engine rating and how I got time in make and model so I was insurable with a brand new ticket.

My broker quoted it as multi rated and 10 hours time in type, I had about 12 after the checkride.

Sportys was a fantastic experience to get my multi. Polished syllabus and comprehensive. Could probably get an "accelerated" rating quicker someplace else, but they really teach you to fly the Aztec safely. Tom is excellent ask for him. He's retired from the college now, he might be able to do 4-5 days in a row of 2 flights per day, come back in 2 weeks for a 3 day weekend and take your checkride.

I bet DPE availability is going to be your time limiting factor about anyplace you find to get your rating.

Brent,

Contact Shane Richards with Old School Aircraft in Jackson TN. The number listed on the website from a Google search is his cell number. He is an instructor and a helicopter pilot with Air Evac at the Jackson hospital. His personal aircraft is a n/a Aztec.
Another instructor with Old School Aircraft is an ER doctor at the hospital. His personal aircraft is a turbo Aztec.
They should be able to work with you and are close to your location.

All, I am having an issue with my shower of sparks ignition system. After trouble shooting we have determined that the mag and vibrator box are functioning properly and have narrowed it down to a wiring problem. Does anyone have a lead on a wiring diagram for the SOS? I have a 1971 Turbo E serial number 27-4795.

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

This isn't Aztec or Lycoming specific but it does cover all three variants of the SOS system design:


https://www.csobeech.com/files/TCMIgnit ... Manual.pdf

Very helpful. Thanks Lance. Should've thought of CSOB

SOS wiring