SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers

Every month, Joe Godfrey, Savvy’s chief data analyst, presents captivating aviation “puzzlers” derived from real-life engine monitor data on the SavvyAnalysis platform, guiding pilots in identifying anomalies for real-time safety decisions and assisting owners in informed maintenance choices.

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SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
Savvy Stories

Broken

by | April 11, 2024 |

The analysis team sees lots of malfunctions in the data we review. No surprise – most clients request analysis when something’s not right, so we’re not seeing the thousands of flights that go off without a hitch. So you could say we’re spring-loaded for malfunctions. This month we had a surge in things that were […]

Deep Fake

by | March 14, 2024 |

Lately the news is filled with examples of deep fakes. This is nothing new for pilots. We practice partial panel approaches for scenarios where technology is trying to convince us that something phony is real. It’s nothing new for engine data analysts. We start the process with evaluating the reliability of the data. The difference […]

Looking for Trouble

by | February 15, 2024 |

When the analysis team started looking at engine data about 10 years ago, we could confidently recognize the patterns for clogged injectors, spark plug misfires and detonation events. Other patterns, like broken valve springs and induction leaks, came later. Last month the analysis team began reviewing borescope pictures. Just as with engine data, some conditions […]

The Best Laid Plans…

by | January 15, 2024 |

Scottish poet Robert Burns wasn’t a pilot – but his words are good advice for flight planning. This Puzzler is about anomalies that happened in flight. 14 CFR 91.103 directs pilots to become familiar with all available information concerning a planned flight prior to departure. We plan and prepare for what we think and hope […]

The Perry Mason Moment

by | December 15, 2023 |

I was channel surfing recently and landed on a Perry Mason rerun. First of all, it’s one of the great TV themes of all time. Hats off to Fred Steiner. Private Detective Paul Drake just oozes cool with his wild sport coats and convertible sports cars. Della Street was smart with just the right amount […]

Provocation

by | November 17, 2023 |

It’s a logical question. You see something abnormal in the data and you wonder if your powerplant management triggered or provoked what happened. I’d say about a third of the tickets I work include some form of the question. Another popular question is “Should I have seen this coming?” and that’s more or less the […]

MacGyver

by | October 15, 2023 |

I never watched MacGyver. It’s not like I watched it once and thought it was junk and never went back. I just never watched it. It must’ve been on when I was busy doing something else. But I think it’s cool that his name has entered the lexicon as a verb. People I know from all walks […]

Hiding in Plain Sight

by | September 18, 2023 |

When I taught in the classroom one of my favorite scenarios was teaching software. Typically I would introduce a concept, give examples of its application in the real world, and then show the students how to do it in the software. Inevitably, in a group of 25 students, there would be one or two who […]

Sweat the Small Stuff

by | August 11, 2023 |

Years ago my wife got a set of books as a gift. It’s the series devoted to sweating the small stuff in life. I guess the gifter thought she needed help prioritizing. They’re on the bookshelf in her office still shrink wrapped – so much for sweating. I’m not going to read them either, because […]

Succession

by | June 16, 2023 |

Judging from the ratings, I’m not the only one that just finished watching Succession. I’m an only child, and often wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Granted, it’s fiction, and granted it’s a supremely dysfunctional family, but wow. I’m fine with OC. As I reviewed the candidates for this month’s Puzzler, I […]

Better off Without it?

by | May 12, 2023 |

Most of the time engine data is an important tool for helping us with powerplant management during a flight, and choosing efficient options when maintenance is needed. If you’re a regular Puzzler reader, you’ve seen lots of examples of that. But every once in a while, the data is so erratic or mysterious that it […]

Engine Data Analysis for Prebuy Exams

by | April 14, 2023 |

In a prebuy exam, the logbooks are the most important item to review. If the logbooks check out ok, reviewing a set of borescope pictures is a good next step. If there are no dealbreakers so far, take a look at the engine data – at least for the last couple of years. When a […]

Edge Case

by | March 17, 2023 |

After ten years of reviewing engine data, it’s getting harder to hit us with something we haven’t seen before. This month we had the usual contingent of clogged injectors, weak spark and induction leaks. But we had a few scenarios that caused some head scratching, speculating and postulating. Since day one, our goal has been […]

Is Flying Safer Now?

by | February 18, 2023 |

As Savvy Analysis turns ten, I thought I would try and see if the data shows that more engine monitors and more data analysis over the last ten years contributed to fewer accidents attributed to mechanical failure. You would think so, right? Engine data should make it easier to recognize problems, and knowing what the […]

Chat GPT

by | January 20, 2023 |

When we started Savvy Analysis Pro ten years ago, we wondered how long it would take before deep learning and artificial intelligence would take over and push the human analysts to the curb. In those ten years, we’ve rolled out Report Cards, Trend Analysis, reports, and three iterations of FEVA reports. Ten years ago we […]

Declaring an Anomaly

by | December 19, 2022 |

Chapter 6 of the AIM covers emergency procedures, including the difference between distress – like fire, mechanical failure, oil on the windscreen, or structural damage – and urgency – like being lost, low on gas, encountering dangerous weather, or any other condition that could adversely affect flight safety. And 6-1-2 ends with “Pilots who become […]

These Go To Eleven

by | November 14, 2022 |

Good news! They’re making Spinal Tap 2, with plans to release it in 2024 – 40 years after the first one. Of all the great quotable lines in ST1, it’s hard to top “these go to eleven”. Sometimes we get a set of screwy engine data that makes us wonder if the data came from […]

Warning Signs

by | October 15, 2022 |

A lot of analysis requests begin with “Something bad just happened and we had to divert and land. Is there something in the data that would’ve told us this was about to happen?” Our first reaction is usually relief – that the pilot got on the ground safely and is able to make the request. […]

The Cycle

by | September 16, 2022 |

Baseball has the cycle – single, double, triple and home run. What would that be for an analyst working a shift? Clogged injector is probably the single. Bad spark plug is probably the double. Let’s say the triple is a stuck valve. And the homer is a detonation event. How about a catastrophic part failure? […]

The 80/20 Rule

by | August 13, 2022 |

Apparently the 80/20 rule is also known as the Pareto Principle. Broadly applied, it means that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your outcomes. In my previous careers in advertising and education, I would contend that 80% of stuff I spent my time on were caused by 20% of my ad clients […]

Plateau

by | July 17, 2022 |

It’s always fun at Oshkosh when one of the technologies of GA makes a move after spending a lot of time on the plateau. Avgas is the latest example. For years we just pumped it and worried about the short-term cost and the long-term availability, and now we’ve got some interesting new options to consider. […]

Maverick

by | June 18, 2022 |

I’m not spoiling the movie if I tell you that one of the opening scenes of Top Gun: Maverick is a pilot swinging a wrench on an owner-flown piston-powered warbird. That may be enough to make you want to see it, although from the box office numbers so far they don’t need help filling seats. […]

Foxes and Hedgehogs

by | May 17, 2022 |

The Greek poet Archilochus wrote, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” I’m reminded of this when clients ask “Which engine monitor should I buy?” Savvy doesn’t endorse brands or product models, so without naming names, we think the best choice is the one that reliably gives you the information […]
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