by Mike Busch | May 1, 2024 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
What we can learn from medicine about fixing things without taking them apart. A longtime friend who was suffering from extreme fatigue and shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure caused by aortic valve stenosis, and she required an aortic...
by Joe Godfrey | Apr 11, 2024 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
The analysis team sees lots of malfunctions in the data we review. No surprise – most clients request analysis when something’s not right, so we’re not seeing the thousands of flights that go off without a hitch. So you could say we’re...
by Mike Busch | Apr 1, 2024 | AOPA Pilot Magazine, Magazine Articles
Teaching owners (and mechanics) how to do borescope inspections right In my last column (“Ending the War on Jugs,” AOPA Pilot March 2024 issue), I talked at length about why we should use the borescope—not the compression tester—as the gold standard for assessing...
by Joe Godfrey | Mar 14, 2024 | SavvyAnalysis Puzzlers
Lately the news is filled with examples of deep fakes. This is nothing new for pilots. We practice partial panel approaches for scenarios where technology is trying to convince us that something phony is real. It’s nothing new for engine data analysts. We start...
by Mike Busch | Mar 7, 2024 | Magazine Articles
Concerning E.I. UBG-16, MGL and GRT monitors How do I download data from a UBG-16? Files that come from a UBG-16 do not contain “heading names” for each of the columns in the file (each column represents a data series, such as EGT1). As such, if a file such as this...
by Mike Busch | Mar 7, 2024 | Magazine Articles
Aircraft owners often ask us for advice about what kind of engine monitor equipment we recommend installing in their airplanes. Owners who already have engine monitors installed often seek advice about upgrading them with additional capabilities or replacing them with...
by Mike Busch | Mar 6, 2024 | Magazine Articles
The best way to diagnose an engine problem is usually in the air. Note to reader: The procedures discussed in this article for gathering flight test data are described more fully in the “Flight Test Profiles” document found under the “Learn More” or “Help” menu items....
by Mike Busch | Mar 6, 2024 | Magazine Articles
Each time you change mixture, RPM or MP, it affects combustion timing. Understanding how is your best defense against harming your engine by doing something dumb. My last few columns focused on the physics of the combustion event in Otto-cycle engines. I’m sure this...
by Mike Busch | Mar 6, 2024 | Magazine Articles
Often confused and misunderstood, these two abnormal combustion phenomena are as different as night and day. Although we often hear people describe what goes on inside the cylinders of an Otto-cycle engine as being an explosion – i.e., a violent, nearly-instantaneous...
by Mike Busch | Mar 6, 2024 | Magazine Articles
These two key measurements can tell us a lot about what’s going on inside our cylinders. My column last month talked about the fact that our piston aircraft engines convert only about one-third of the energy contained in avgas into useful energy to the propeller....
