Savvy Stories

A true story of smart maintenance management.   When a Cirrus SR22TN owner was told his camshaft was failing and a $54,000 engine overhaul was required, he turned to SavvyMx before signing the work order. What happened next shows exactly why having Savvy on your side can save you tens of thousands of dollars and a lot of unnecessary downtime. The Situation  During a routine annual inspection, the shop reported camshaft corrosion and lifter wear, recommending a full engine overhaul estimated at $54,000. The owner, uncertain about the necessity of such a major repair, sought SavvyMx’s guidance before approving the work. The Savvy Solution  SavvyMx’s account manager and technical team reviewed the shop’s photos and findings. Their analysis revealed only minor pitting and localized wear—normal for engines that have sat idle—and no evidence of active failure. Rather than an overhaul, Savvy recommended replacing just the affected lifters and reassembling the engine, followed by monitoring via oil analysis,  oil filter inspection, and periodic borescope inspections. The Outcome  The aircraft passed its annual inspection, returned to service safely, and avoided weeks of downtime—and an unnecessary $54,000 overhaul.     “Without Savvy, I would have authorized the overhaul and spent a fortune on a […]

A true story of smart maintenance management. When aircraft owner “David” brought his Cirrus SR22 in for its annual inspection at a large maintenance facility, he braced himself for a hefty bill. The shop’s initial estimate totaled over $54,000, citing numerous discrepancies that supposedly required immediate correction—including items like nose gear puck replacement, avionics softwareupdates, and component reseals. Fortunately, David was enrolled in SavvyMx, Savvy Aviation’s managed maintenance service. His Savvy account manager, Tony Barrel, quickly stepped in to review the estimate line by line. Tony immediately spotted several items that were either misclassified, unnecessary, or not due for service. For instance, the shop claimed that the power lever assembly required removal and nondestructive testing (NDT) due to an airworthiness directive. Tony verified that this AD did not apply to David’s aircraft model, eliminating nearly $1,000 in unneeded labor right away. Several other line items raised red flags: The shop had included a “mandatory” avionics software update and a built-in oxygen system inspection that were, in reality, optional or already current. Savvy confirmed these as non-applicable, saving more than $1,500. Even more significant were proposed gasket and seal replacements throughout the aircraft—from the anti-ice tank to the fuel transducers—that the shop claimed […]

A true story of smart maintenance management.   When aircraft owner Mark received an oil analysis showing elevated iron levels, he feared the worst. His maintenance shop recommended an engine teardown to inspect the camshaft and lifters—work that could have cost tens of thousands of dollars and grounded his airplane for months. Before committing, Mark turned to SavvyMx, Savvy Aviation’s managed maintenance service, for a second opinion. “We’ll help you take the least invasive path first,” said Jeff Simon, Savvy Account Manager, who took the lead on the case. Savvy’s team reviewed the oil analysis, confirmed the oil filter was clean, and noted the absence of operational symptoms—signs the issue might not be catastrophic. Rather than rushing to disassemble the engine, Savvy recommended a measured, data-driven approach: inspect and photograph the cam and lifters, verify damage, and only then decide on action. “You literally saved your engine. This is exactly why we do this work.” — Jeff Simon, Account Manager, Savvy Aviation Under Savvy’s guidance, Mark’s mechanic confirmed pitted lifters while the cam appeared serviceable. Savvy advised a targeted repair plan: Polish cam lobes with crocus cloth. Replace all lifters with new ones. Flush the oil system and switch to Phillips 66 X/C 20W-50 with CamGuard. The result? Smooth power, clean […]

The manufacturer said the Cirrus’ air conditioner evaporator needed a $5K overhaul., but Tom’s persistence knocked more than 50% off that figure.

Larry had good experiences with this shop in the past, but this time was different.

Lew flew his Beech Baron to Nashville to drop off his wife, then couldn’t get the right engine started to fly home.

Bill’s RV-10 had high CHTs after its annual condition inspection. Engine monitor data made it easy to diagnose the problem

Ted’s IA wanted to start tearing his engine apart. We talked him out of it

Trace’s IA wasn’t a big fan of borescopes; luckily, Trace was

You’re in the Lesser Antilles when your airplane’s gear retraction system goes on the fritz. Who ya gonna call?

Savvy’s latest upgrade of its cutting-edge machine learning model yields failure predictions 20% more accurate and sensitive than ever before

What started as a smooth prebuy of a late-model Bonanza wound up getting unexpectedly…well…interesting

Not enough runway remaining to abort, barely enough power to limp to an emergency landing on an adjacent runway—now what?

By catching these ailing exhaust valves early, this maintenance-savvy owner averted costly and risky cylinder removal

Lessons learned from geriatric engines.

Something definitely wasn’t right with Willy’s #3 EGT. Engine monitor data analysis pinpointed the problem.

The seller of the Stinson insisted that the prebuy be done in his hangar and in his presence. We advised our client to walk away. When he didn’t, we had to…

You’re cruising high above rough terrain when your engine suddenly loses power and you make an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere. Now what?

Sometimes the best course of action is walking away.

A thermal runaway can do bad things to a cylinder quite quickly.

The simple task of “dialing the crank” turned into a costly marathon until expert advice saved the day.

The Cherokee 235 had a mag drop of 1000+ RPM, and the question was “why?”

A stuck exhaust valve resulted in a seriously sick Lycoming and a seriously stuck Cessna Cardinal.

The prebuy revealed a long list of discrepancies. Enough to justify walking away?