by Joe Godfrey | Sep 24, 2017 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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 data analysis....
by Mike Busch | Sep 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Must manufacturer’s maintenance guidance be followed? Have you ever had your mechanic tell you something like this: “It has been six years since your propeller was last overhauled, so we’re going to have to overhaul it this year as required by Hartzell.” “Your...
by Joe Godfrey | Aug 19, 2017 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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 causing the...
by Mike Busch | Aug 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
The first flight after maintenance is special. My client wanted to buy a Bonanza A36, and narrowed his search to two promising candidates. One had recently suffered a “forgot to remove the tow bar” prop strike, necessitating an engine teardown inspection and prop...
by Joe Godfrey | Jul 17, 2017 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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 fond of saying, “Timing is everything.” I think the quality of the...
by Mike Busch | Jul 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
What “stuff” do you carry in your airplane? It’s a well-known fact: Most mechanical problems occur between Friday night and Sunday afternoon when you’re hundreds of miles from home base. The difference between a minor annoyance and a major travel...
by Joe Godfrey | Jun 15, 2017 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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 saw it in...
by Mike Busch | Jun 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Compared to Lycocontisauruses, the Rotax 912 is delightfully different. The past 20 years may well have yielded more outside-the-box ideas than any other comparable period in history. The iPod redefined the music industry in 2001. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter...
by Joe Godfrey | May 19, 2017 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
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 the air. I can...
by Mike Busch | May 1, 2017 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Time to topple the venerable compression test? The venerable compression test: past retirement age? The differential compression check has been a mainstay of piston aircraft engine maintenance for the last 80 years. Like anything else in aviation that’s been...
