Mike Busch on Engines

What every aircraft owner needs to know about the design, operation, condition monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting of piston piston aircraft engines

By: Mike Busch

Narrated by: Justin Smallbridge, Michael Busch

“The risk of engine failure is greatest when your engine is young, NOT when it’s old. You should worry more about pediatrics than geriatrics.” (Mike Busch, A&P/IA)

Mike Busch on Engines expands the iconoclastic philosophy of his groundbreaking first book Manifesto to the design, operation, condition monitoring, maintenance, and troubleshooting of piston aircraft engines.

Busch begins with the history and theory of four-stroke spark-ignition engines. He describes the construction of both the “top end” (cylinders) and “bottom end” (inside the case), and functioning of key systems (lubrication, ignition, carburetion, fuel injection, turbocharging). He reviews modern engine leaning technique (which your POH probably has all wrong), and provides a detailed blueprint for maximizing the life of your engine.

The second half presents a 21st-century approach to health assessment, maintenance, overhaul and troubleshooting. Busch explains how modern condition monitoring tools—like borescopy, oil analysis, and digital engine monitor data analysis—allow you to extend engine life and overhaul strictly on-condition rather at an arbitrary TBO. The section devoted to troubleshooting problems like rough running, high oil consumption, temperamental ignition, and turbocharging issues is worth its weight in gold.

If you want your engine to live long and prosper, you need this book.

©2018 Michael D. Busch (P)2023 Savvy Aviator, Inc.

Fabulous

Mike knocks IR out of the park as per usual. So great to see the tip of the hat to George Braly in the Epilogue. Honestly, I doubt I’d have finished the book without the Audible format. Congratulations!

Fascinating and informative

Must read for all involved in GA maintenance, management, and ownership. Prospective pilots and CFIs should also read to develop comprehensive level of understanding and break years of dogmatic inaccuracies.

Information

I have a 182S with Mostly electronic gremlins the first year. I bought it with 1700 hours, got a minimal subscription to Savvy aviation & I’ll keep an eye on my settings in flight. Lots of knowledge for a woman plane owner!

All aircraft owners should read.

After 50 years of building general aviation engines I can say this is filled with some of the best advice I've seen for pilots. I don't agree with everything but it's a good work. Well researched.

Thank you Mike Bush!

Thank you Mike for sharing all your wisdom, you really are dragging GA piston maintenance and operational procedures into this century kicking and screaming.

Out with the old, In with the new!!

I recently read a story about the history of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream & was surprised how they were ‘unencumbered by the myth of experience’ & instead went with what worked. Many years earlier, the Wright Brothers similarly threw out knowledge that wasn’t working. Mike Busch has a similar approach that not only makes sense, but is backed up with hard evidence. Even if You’re not a ‘gear head’, this book makes a LOT of sense!!

Excellent in depth study

Found this to be a fascinating study of the history and experiences of engine management and plane ownership.
If you want to understand leaning, how to have a pov on engine management this is for you.

Very Very Informative

Filled with very detailed information about maintaining and monitoring your engine. Lots of practical advice for a novice like me, and plenty of detail that would benefit a mechanic. Excellent for an aircraft owner, and required reading if you work on them.

Best value purchase in aviation HANDS DOWN

I am in Aircraft owner, mechanic, and I A, and I can honestly say that this book has produced more confident, information and knowledge in my mentality about owning and operating general aviation aircraft than four years of formal education, two years of experience, and over a decade of aircraft ownership. Thank you, Mike for putting together such a comprehensive and beautifully articulated message.

Opportunity for creative logical data driven decisions vs normal GA practice and lore are legion.

Logic and data not tradition should drive GA power plant maintenance. The vast majority of A&P’s (fatalities continue to decline!!) are good mechanics doing what they were taught but there are many opportunities to do better and be wiser. Discussion, humility, modern training, tools (bores scope) and data are required for condition based maintenance and troubleshooting. Owners and APs must get together and up their game to avoid a continuous descent into unaffordability.