by Joe Godfrey | Feb 16, 2021 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
Part of the job of engine data analysis is separating relevant, useful information from red herrings. I always wondered why there were two definitions for red herrings; the first is a smoked fish and the second was something meant to distract from the main issue in an...
by Mike Busch | Feb 1, 2021 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Preventing and dealing with magneto-ignition system failure. Both the FARs and their predecessor CARs require that certificated spark-ignition recip-rocating aircraft engines—the kind most of us fly behind—have fully redundant dual ignition systems: PART...
by Joe Godfrey | Jan 9, 2021 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
This is part two of an article about sticky valves. Part one is here. The cliffhanger was a Cessna 182 with a wobbly trace in EGT 4 for the first 14 mins of ground ops. Your homework was to decide if it was a sticky valve or something else. Here’s the whole...
by Mike Busch | Jan 1, 2021 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
The spark plugs in most piston aircraft engines are still powered by 120-year-old technology. My airplane’s piston engines utilize a magneto ignition system. If you’re flying a certificated airplane, chances are good that yours does, too. The fact that we’re still...
by Joe Godfrey | Dec 6, 2020 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
It has been a while since we took a look at sticky valves. I’m not going to write about why valves stick and how to keep it from happening, although I have a great resource for that. Earlier this year Mike Busch wrote an article for AOPA Pilot called Why Valves...
by Mike Busch | Dec 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Rigid baffles and flexible baffle seals are critical in keeping your engine cool. The Cessna T210 owner was clearly frustrated with his new engine installation: “I recently had my engine rebuilt and had a new baffle kit installed. The CHTs for cylinders #5 and #6 are...
by Joe Godfrey | Nov 13, 2020 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
Recently a client submitted engine data with an erratic EGT trace. It always makes sense to check the connection first, but in this case it looked like a failing probe. When we reported this, he said that he suspected it failed because he hadn’t been flying much...
by Mike Busch | Nov 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Maintenance-induced problems are common, and it often an experienced pair of eyes to diagnose them. Elko Regional Airport (KEKO) is located in northeast Nevada at an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level, and is known for its competitive avgas prices. It’s pretty...
by Joe Godfrey | Oct 16, 2020 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
I live in California. I moved here from Chicago in 1983. It’s probably safe to say that Californians think about earthquakes every day. Most days it’s a fleeting thought then you go about your life. But when you feel a rumble it becomes top of mind again....
by Mike Busch | Oct 1, 2020 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
There’s a lot more to piston aircraft engine oil than you might think Friction and wear are caused by fracturing of “micro-welds” between moving surfaces. When it comes to piston aircraft engines, the role of engine oil is complicated. It lubricates moving parts to...
