by Mike Busch | Jun 1, 2023 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
When it comes to maintenance problems, the FAA might be able help you but only in very limited ways. My April column, titled “Booted Out of Annual,” related a true story of a Bonanza owner who put his plane in the shop for its annual inspection, got into a...
by Joe Godfrey | May 12, 2023 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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...
by Mike Busch | May 5, 2023 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
THERE ARE NO LONGER ENOUGH A&PS TO MAINTAIN OUR GA AIRPLANES “The annual I scheduled more than a year ago got cancelled on a five-week notice,” read a recent post to the Beechcraft Bonanza Owners Facebook group. The unhappy owner went on to say that it was going...
by Joe Godfrey | Apr 14, 2023 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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...
by Mike Busch | Apr 1, 2023 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
This unfortunate aircraft owner was placed in an untenable position by an unreasonable maintenance manager Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. I’m going to change the names—I’ll call the aircraft owner “Oliver” and the A&P/IA “Isaac” and the shop...
by Joe Godfrey | Mar 17, 2023 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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...
by Mike Busch | Mar 1, 2023 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Should you have to pay for work or parts that don’t fix the problem? “Mike, I have an ethical question for you: How should an aircraft owner determine fair compensation to a mechanic for parts and labor that were unnecessary?” The email was from a 1947 Piper PA-12...
by Joe Godfrey | Feb 18, 2023 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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...
by Mike Busch | Feb 1, 2023 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
How far does your IA have to go to verify that your aircraft is airworthy? The subject line of the email got my attention: “Annual gone wrong…please help!” The author—let’s call him Morrie—identified himself as a first-time airplane owner. “I have my Citabria in for...
by Joe Godfrey | Jan 20, 2023 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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,...
