As I have previously stated, I would love to find a way to do this.
But I am confused. You just said it works that way on the Kodiak? From all appearances it does not.
Did you get it to work that way? Because I missed THAT revaluation if you did!
Oh, and please do not mistake my frustration here for anger.
You are great. One of the first names I learned on these boards.
This is frustrating.
You are awesome.
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Dude. This is nuts.
Here are the facts:
ā¢ It works this way on the Kodiak only if I have neutral trim, but Iāve only tested this on an empty Kodiak.
ā¢ It nose dives when I have nose down trim in a
heavily loaded Kodiak.
ā¢ Ergo my theory that when heavily laden and using nose down trim, I need to trim neutral and then engage the AP.
Does that clarify?
Oh, and weāre totally good here. This is just a silly text-based conversation gone wrong!
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Have you tested it with the process I have suggested?
Because THAT is what works for me. Time and again, it works.
It IS different from some other planes, but in line with many of the newer Garmin systems I have learned in MSFS.
If THAT doesnāt work for you, then you might be dealing with a bug of some sort.
But that is how I set my VS every time.
Takeoff
Engage AP
Press Alt to level off
VS to capture.
Then roll the VS to adjust to the desired FPM
I cannot get it to hold a VS I have set before engaging AP and VS in air.
There might be some VNAV options but thatās not my wheelhouse with the G1000.
Interesting, because I definitely can ā in the Kodiak.
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How can you adjust VS and hold a climb at that number without AP or VS engaged?
And if you can, then why are you asking how to do it?
I really wish we could start over here, my friend.
Iām not asking if I can do this, I know that I can.
I was trying to understand why I was getting a nose dive when I engaged the autopilot. After research, testing and eating some humble pie, I believe it is my own mistake ā one must correctly trim their aircraft before engaging AP.
Since the Kodiak has a need for heavier nose down trim when loaded to help with a CG tendency towards rearward bias, leaving it trimmed that way after takeoff and engaging AP is going to cause it to dive. Again, I havenāt tested this yet, but Iām nearly 100% sure that is my issue. I need to trim neutral during the climb out and then engage the AP. If I donāt, Iām going to get a nose dive.
Again, all of this is with the AP preconfigured on the ground ā a completely normal and appropriate procedure for a pilot to perform.
I know I can use it the way youāre describing. That was never in doubt nor what I was talking about.
My confusion, in part, has been due to not remembering having to be as concerned about re-trimming the airplane on previous flights. Maybe I had used less nose down trim on earlier flights and I was more aggressive this time. I donāt know, but something changed either with me or the aircraft that changed my expected outcome.
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After all this, I think I finally understand what you are saying! 
That nose trim is a pain.
I break with what I have been told to do and let AP do the trim.
I just quickly get the trim in the rough ballpark for flying. I usually am still holding my yoke or stick to keep the pitch perfect. Then I engage the AP and let it do the fine tuning with the trim for me while I slowly release the controls.
In fact, the Kodiak before it is trimmed is a beast to hand fly (warbird-esque) and I often feel a sense of relief when I press AP and then Alt (and often HDG or NAV). I let the computer work itself out (because my trim gear is not as good as the real thing and it takes a long time to do manually). Then if I want to hand fly, I take the controls back once it has settled into a more stable, flying trim on its own!
Since it is a glass cockpit, I try to remind myself I can let that computer do a LOT of the work I would normally have to do myself on a steam plane. I call it my sky Tesla.
Whew!
Yeah, so thatās the weird part and why Iām a bit puzzled with the nose dive ā Iām doing (and have always done) what youāre describing in terms of engaging the AP and letting it trim up the plane, but I must have too must nose down, because it really doesnāt like me releasing pressure on the yoke else that nose will just roll right over and head downwards and really aggressively.
I need to do my further test of trimming first and seeing what that nets me.
Itās a whacky beast, for sure.
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Awesome.
Yeah, when you test, keep an eye on your VS when you start engaging all the AP stuff. I am 99.99% sure you have had a negative VS these last few times you tried. And I do suggest letting the Alt button level things off further for you before going into VS mode.
Sorry, this is my favorite plane so I can be a bit enthusiastic when trying to get folks flying it!
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No. Iām 100% sure Iām in a steady climb gaining altitude!
Thatās why I came here seeking council. I was really perplexed by it. Iāve flown the Kodiak quite a bit. Iām not a glass cockpit sort of a pilot, but when I seek the high-tech itās the Kodiak I head straight for.
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The Kodiak is SO squirrelly a moment of looking at the AP panel and it could be in a dive with that trim!
Anyway, good luck up there. I really think you are on the path to quelling the issue now.
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I have been following your thread and going back to the very beginning you said you loaded all you weight in the forward pods and the front half of the cabin. You then said because the aircraft was heavily loaded you used full nose down trim. The trim has nothing to do with the weight of the aircraft. Loaded like you said should give you a c of g only slightly aft of centre and therefore a SLIGHTLY nose down trim.
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Iām unsure how you conclude it has nothing to do with the weight. The weight is what moves the CG, which was much further back than slightly aft of center, in my case. Without knowing what weight my cargo was, how could you know what that CG was?
For example, if the cargo loaded into the rows is 100 pounds for each slot, that is going to produce a different CG result than cargo that is 250 pounds in each slot.
Iāll set it up again today and check, but I recall without the weight added to the forward cargo pod bay, the CG was nearly out of bounds to the aft with just the main cabin loaded.
From the Kodiak manual from SWS:
TAKE-OFF TRIM
Take-off trim range in the Kodiak is 0 to 75% nose-down trim. More aft CG, more forward trim is required.
And I didnāt say that I used full nose down trim, just more than I would empty or mildly loaded.
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Can you clarify - in your climb, are you trimmed for the airspeed and the yoke is neutral, or are you holding back pressure on the yoke when you engage the AP?
I was not trimmed and was pulling back on the yoke to maintain the climb.
I hadnāt flown the Kodiak in awhile and my rustiness with it is most likely at fault here.
The part I either cannot recall or have remembered incorrectly, is I havenāt had this issue in the past with it. I either trimmed the aircraft in the past before engaging the AP or, if not, the trim wasnāt as severe to cause an issue with the AP when it was engaged and I was able to get away with poor piloting.
Again, Iām nearly positive my issue is failure to trim the aircraft prior to engaging the AP. I need to recreate the flight and test this, however.
Sounds good! The pitch axis of the AP only controls the trim tabs, so I suspect itās chasing once you engage the AP and let go of all that back pressure.
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Youāre right I do not know what your CG was. All I meant was that the weight was irrelevant, you can be at max aft CG with a light load or heavy load depending on what stations you load it in. The example I was giving was loading the forward pods and front cabin stations almost to their maximum permissable weight by the POH which brings it up to MTOW and a CG a little aft of centre.
Perhaps my ignorance is in play here or Iām not understanding what youāre referring to as center.
Looking at the CG diagram on the Weight and Balance page, the CG forward limit is 14% and the CG aft limit is 40%. My load places it at 33.72%.
If center is between the FWD and AFT limit, Iām not seeing 33.72% being a little aft of center. It is a fair amount aft of center, as indicated by the CG symbol.
Am I misunderstanding what youāre referring to as center?
Well, I was debating with myself what to make my next tutorial on. I think I have my answer!
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