Narrative:

On departure from vgt runway 12R; in clear daylight VMC; I was on an IFR flight plan; cleared for the rightturn one SID. On initial climbout; in light to moderate turbulence; I began the right turn to join the las 313 degree radial and was switched from tower frequency to las vegas departure control; and was immediately given a change in assigned altitude. Having loaded the departure procedure in my garmin GTN750; displayed on the garmin pfd G500; I activated the autopilot to execute the SID and I then adjusted the 'altitude pre-select' knob for the amended altitude. In doing so; it took me a moment more before I quickly realized the aircraft was continuing to remain on the pre-set heading and not turning toward ruzco intersection on the las 313 degree radial; and became further distracted looking to determine why the equipment was not performing as expected; when departure control called; commanding an immediate turn to the north to avoid rising terrain in the distance. At no time was there any risk of CFIT; as the conditions were 'severe clear' and I was aware of my position (including the fact that I had 'overrun' the radial.) in fact; I had recognized what happened and was beginning the turn at the same time as the vector command was received.what I discovered was that I had neglected to flip a panel mounted 'roll steering' switch that couples the autopilot to the GTN750 loaded procedure; allowing the autopilot to sequence from one portion of the SID to the next. The autopilot was simply on 'heading' mode; and not executing the programmed procedure. I failed to adequately monitor the situation; and when I recognized that the aircraft was not turning; I looked to find out 'why' rather than immediately either hand flying the required turn or; using the heading 'bug;' commanding the autopilot to execute the turn toward ruzco intersection. I have not often relied on a coupled autopilot for a SID. This was not the place to 'practice.' while these devices can be helpful to the pilot; their use should be practiced in conditions under which an error will not result in either an ATC deviation or the risk of potential harm. The midday clear-air turbulence (on a 90 degree las vegas afternoon); added to the challenge. The initial climb under these circumstances can result in a busy few moments for the PIC. While the sophisticated equipment available today should ideally reduce pilot workload; it can have the opposite effect when the pilot is not sufficiently experienced in their proper use during this phase of flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-46 pilot reports overshooting the LAS 313 Radial during the RIGHTTURN ONE departure from VGT due to improper autopilot set up. Troubleshooting rather than manually initiating the turn exacerbated the problem and got ATC's attention.

Narrative: On departure from VGT Runway 12R; in clear daylight VMC; I was on an IFR flight plan; cleared for the RIGHTTURN ONE SID. On initial climbout; in light to moderate turbulence; I began the right turn to join the LAS 313 degree radial and was switched from Tower frequency to Las Vegas Departure Control; and was immediately given a change in assigned altitude. Having loaded the departure procedure in my Garmin GTN750; displayed on the Garmin PFD G500; I activated the autopilot to execute the SID and I then adjusted the 'Altitude Pre-Select' knob for the amended altitude. In doing so; it took me a moment more before I quickly realized the aircraft was continuing to remain on the pre-set heading and not turning toward RUZCO intersection on the LAS 313 degree radial; and became further distracted looking to determine why the equipment was not performing as expected; when Departure Control called; commanding an immediate turn to the north to avoid rising terrain in the distance. At no time was there any risk of CFIT; as the conditions were 'severe clear' and I was aware of my position (including the fact that I had 'overrun' the radial.) In fact; I had recognized what happened and was beginning the turn at the same time as the vector command was received.What I discovered was that I had neglected to flip a panel mounted 'roll steering' switch that couples the autopilot to the GTN750 loaded procedure; allowing the autopilot to sequence from one portion of the SID to the next. The autopilot was simply on 'heading' mode; and not executing the programmed procedure. I failed to adequately monitor the situation; and when I recognized that the aircraft was not turning; I looked to find out 'why' rather than immediately either hand flying the required turn or; using the heading 'bug;' commanding the autopilot to execute the turn toward RUZCO Intersection. I have not often relied on a coupled autopilot for a SID. This was not the place to 'practice.' While these devices can be helpful to the pilot; their use should be practiced in conditions under which an error will not result in either an ATC deviation or the risk of potential harm. The midday clear-air turbulence (on a 90 degree Las Vegas afternoon); added to the challenge. The initial climb under these circumstances can result in a busy few moments for the PIC. While the sophisticated equipment available today should ideally reduce pilot workload; it can have the opposite effect when the pilot is not sufficiently experienced in their proper use during this phase of flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.