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,...
by Mike Busch | Jan 18, 2023 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Don’t use exhaust gas temperature as a leaning reference I respond to at least 100 queries from aircraft owners and pilots each week. At least a dozen of those are questions or requests for advice about leaning, and most of them relate to EGT. A few common ones: Q: My...
by Joe Godfrey | Dec 19, 2022 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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...
by Mike Busch | Dec 1, 2022 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Situational awareness requires being aware of your aircraft’s systems, too. On Saturday, August 26, 2022, a young CFI took off from Monterey, California in a Cessna 172 on a “Discovery Flight.” His passengers were a young couple, with the man occupying the left front...
