I’ve been around enough maintenance hangars over the years to see plenty of disasters waiting to happen—and ones that already have—but might have been avoided if pilots knew what was going on under the cowling. That’s why I took an interest in Airplane Engines: A Pilot-Friendly Manual from Pilot Workshops. If you’re familiar with the company’s other material (print and video) you know the subjects are presented in a straightforward way that cuts to the chase, and even better, are made to reference in the cockpit when workload is high.
The latest 125-page spiral-bound engine manual (it’s also in PDF format) is written in a task-oriented format supplemented by useful graphics and good photos—lots of them—to support the goal of operating the engine for best performance and longevity. Both are areas of deficiency, especially when stepping up to turbocharged, high-output Continental and Lycoming engines. And, there’s often a communication breakdown between pilots and mechanics that can surely be improved (ultimately saving troubleshooting time and money) if owners knew what they were seeing on engine monitors, hearing and feeling in the seat of the pants. I think the manual has a logical flow, starting with an engine tour of major components, and core skills required to properly decipher a graphic engine monitor. I’ve seen buyers drop real money on gee-whiz monitors but simply don’t know what they’re looking at on the display. There’s also guidance on downloading the trend data—a worthwhile task that sometimes gets dropped.