Olio
Sometimes the data that I gather to write about has an obvious theme. Sometimes I sort of manhandle them into a common theme. This month, it’s more of a collection of independent cases. First up is data from a Cirrus...
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.
Failure Is An Option
One of the most famous and inspirational sayings in aviation and aerospace is “failure is not an option.” If you like the Ron Howard movie Apollo 13, chances are you’d like the book – or the Audible version – about...
Ab-Normally Aspirated
by Paul Kortopates One of the more common turbo problems we see are erratic fluctuations in MAP. Below is a plot of MAP (the red trace) & Altitude (the yellow trace) of a Cirrus. Although the data is a bit...
Conjecture
In math, a conjecture is a statement you believe to be true based on observations. That sounds like something you could trust and act on. Webster’s says it’s an inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence. That sounds like conclusion...
Fixation
NTSB concluded that Eastern flight 401 crashed into the Everglades in 1972 because all three crew members were fixated on a failed landing light. The lemonade was aviation’s adoption of CRM. As valuable as trustworthy engine data can be for...
Assume
Assume – yep, we all know what those letters stand for. I can’t speak for “u” but assuming has made an ass out of “me” more than once. There’s a fair amount of assuming attached to any endeavor, including engine...
Flux Capacitor
There’s a running gag in my family when a mechanical device isn’t performing properly. It takes three people. After the owner of the device has described the symptoms in detail to the other two people, they offer suggestions about what’s...
Bang For Your Buck I
I have written about this before, but not in two years, and with lots of new clients and a couple of new Savvy services in that time, it seemed like a good time for a biennial review. The comedians are...
The Fat Lady Sings
One of the first steps of engine data analysis is evaluating the reliability of the data. In recent Puzzlers we’ve seen probes that didn’t fail spectacularly, they just kept sending data that was almost believable, and could – if you...
You Need Coolin’
Flying is full of great and memorable sounds. I’ll never forget how quiet the cockpit was after lifting off for my first solo – compared to hours of hearing my CFI issue verbal corrections or way-to-gos. It was just the engine and...
Fiddly Bits
If there were a TV show where I could watch A&Ps, or just plain owners, swinging wrenches on airplanes, I’d probably watch. I’d at least give it a look. Ice Pilots and Flying Wild Alaska and Airplane Repo tend more toward the...
Pi in the Sky
How can rational numbers be so irrational? Actually, upon examination what we discover is that there’s usually a perfectly logical explanation for why an engine parameter is displaying its pattern. Even the impossible jumps from a failing probe have a...
Fire in the Hole
Someone sent me a link this week for a video of a controlled blast triggering an avalanche. That started me thinking about some of my favorite cinematic explosions: Denzel Washington blowing up an oil tanker in “The Equalizer”, Jeremy Renner’s adrenaline-addicted...
Ace the Test
As we enter our 5th year of Savvy Analysis Pro, we have – as the guy on TV says – seen a thing or two in terms of the Savvy Test Profile. We decided it was time for an update,...
Corroboration
Corroboration – evidence that supports a proposition that already has some supporting evidence – is an important component of engine data analysis. Corroboration can come from other data, or from the pilot who submits the analysis request. In analyzing the...
Punctuated Equilibrium
I’ll admit stealing the title from Stephen Jay Gould’s work on paleontology. I’m a big fan of his writing and he left us far too soon. So what’s the connection to engine data? It’s a stretch, and it’s not my...
Get on the Ground? Or Carry on?
Recently I was talking with fellow pilots about flight diversions – things that pop up in flight that would cause you to change your plans and make a precautionary landing. We covered the obvious examples like fire and engine failure,...
Sully and the Music Box
Like millions of others, last week I saw Sully recently. If you’re a pilot, I don’t see how you avoid wondering what you would have done with a powerless airliner at 2800 feet and no good options. I’m not giving anything...
Mag Check iMAGe MAGic
In case there was any doubt, this Puzzler is about mag checks. Specifically, it’s to introduce a new way to display the data from mag checks. For a while now, analysts have been doing this manually and now we have...
Pattern Recognition
Franklin P. Jones, a Philadelphia reporter, said that experience is what allows us to recognize a mistake when we make it again. That’s a mildly cynical approach, and the true value of experience should be to recognize the pattern that led...
First, Do No Harm
I MIFfed my airplane this week. I was installing the passenger seat in my Bellanca Viking – something I’ve done many, many times over my 26 years of ownership, and broke a weld between the seat frame and the seat...
Decision Tree
Every flight is a series of decisions. Sometimes the decisions are easy — weather’s too bad, pilot’s not feeling good, airplane’s not ready or equipped for the trip. This month’s Puzzler is a series of three flights, each with its...
Feel the Burn
If you’ve been flying LOP in cruise for a while you might forget that not so very long ago operating piston engines LOP was, shall we say – frowned upon. POHs didn’t mention it, except to say don’t do it....
Spring Fever
What gets your attention when you’re flying? Obviously traffic, terrain and weather get your attention, but let’s narrow it down to events or trends in the engine data that would cause you to consider a precautionary landing. High CHT, no or very low CHT,...