Most non-pilots come to AirVenture to look at the airplanes. But a lot of experienced owner-airmen make the annual pilgrimage to learn about engines.
If that describes you, you might want to take a few minutes out of your AirVenture schedule to listen to Mike Busch of Savvy Aviation Inc. Mike is an 8,000-hour multi-engine pilot and an A&P/IA. He was named 2008 FAA National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year and writes frequently for AOPA Pilot. He is also the co-founder of AVweb.
Mike will offer 13 one-hour, 15-minute seminars on such topics as The EGT Myth, Leaning the Right Way and How to Destroy Your Engine in One Minute, among others. He’s given talks all over the States traveling in his faithful Cessna 310, which he’s taken to 200% TBO. Mike will be making his presentations at Forum Stages 6-9, and the Sky Shoppe. You can consult the schedule here.
Savvy Aviation recently released Mike’s latest book: Mike Busch on Engines. It’s a 493-page deep dive into your engine’s nether regions, giving readers a solid grounding in engine basics, but also the finer points of troubleshooting and diagnosis. Mike begins at the beginning, with a well-crafted history of the 19th-century Otto-cycle four strokes, whose DNA is now engrained in the powerplants we know and nurture today.
What follows is a nicely organized presentation of how your engine is put together—with straight talk on EGT management and cylinder-by-cylinder temperature monitoring. Mike describes right up front the dangers of detonation and pre-ignition, giving these engine killers their rightful place on a pilot’s worry list.
The rest of Engines flows out in an orderly manner—starting with the anatomy of the top end and the bottom end, then key systems like ignition and lubrication. Mike’s chapter on Leaning Basics (page 209) is its own mini-Bible within the Bible—and a must read.
Engines is the second book in a planned trilogy. It’s a worthy companion to Mike’s first book, Manifesto, which advanced Mike’s philosophy of “reliability-centered aircraft maintenance and proactive aircraft ownership.”
To learn more, visit www.savvyaviation.com.
