I very much hope I am not transgressing forum rules here….
Many of us have read some of John Deakin’s articles (Pelican’s Perch) on operation of some of the larger aviation piston engines, especially those with turbos – either turbo-normalised or turbo-charged. Some have invested in GAMIjectors, some in multi-channel engine monitors, etc. It is, let us say, an area of operation which generates a lot of discussion and challenge.
The US based GA community have had access to this knowledge base by way of live seminars run by the Advanced Pilot team of John Deakin, George Braly and Walter Atkinson (www.advancedpilot.com). These are weekend seminars. A few European pilots have attended and reported very positively.
Having operated a Jetprop for a few years, I am now headed for a Seneca V with 2 engines in the process of being overhauled by Nicholson-McClaren (with some associated sticker shock… 
). So I, and my colleagues, have a vested interest in squeezing the maximum mileage (both mpg and low maintenance) out of the investment. I approached John Deakin and asked about the possibility of running an APS Live event in Europe. I am pleased to say they have agreed and the course is scheduled for the weekend of 23rd to 25th June 2017 to be held in Kortrijk, Belgium.
This event has been organised under the auspices of PPL/IR Europe – but is emphatically not an exclusive PPL/IR Europe gig. For the avoidance of doubt, PPL/IR has no financial interest in this (except to cover any direct organisational costs – venue, local organisation, etc). All of the course fees are going directly to APS.
Everyone with an interest is most welcome to come. All we wish for is that the weekend gets enough support to make it financially viable for the APS team to absorb the costs of the travel and accommodation. So we are reaching out to all interested pilots (and engineers) and extending an open invitation.
The APS team have set a broad minimum of bookings that they need to reasonably justify the extra costs of running this course. We need to try and reach that by mid to late March. If, for whatever reason, the course doesn’t go ahead then fees are fully refundable. Cancellation up to late May is also associated with a refund.
On the flip side, spaces at the venue are limited to around a maximum of just over 50. A place can be secured directly through the APS website – see here.
We are very aware that the cost of this course is substantially higher than the normal weekend based aviation activities. But the fee also includes free access to the excellent online course for all participants (normally $395) plus all instructional material. Operating Avgas burning piston engines is not without significant cost – one that we all see regularly in our fuel and maintenance bills. Many of the operating procedures we have been ‘taught’ over the years may well have some elements of truth within them but many, if not most, may well come under the classification of ’OWT’s’ (Old Wives Tales). The APS team has made every effort to bring some scientific underpinnings to the operation of this technology.
If the knowledge gained over this weekend saved an owner/pilot one cylinder replacement in the operating life of their engine then this course would easily pay for itself. Add to that possible fuel and other maintenance savings, then the knowledge gained over this weekend holds out the prospect of a significant return on investment. We will all also learn how to better interpret the in flight data from your digital engine monitor (or maybe resolve to fit one if you don’t have one already). The correct interpretation of what an engine monitor is showing might save your life! It will also help you to direct your engineer’s attention more accurately to developing technical problems that you report thus saving you more money and AOG time.
I stress again that all are welcome and I hope that the weekend is a real success and stimulates a lot of debate and discussion – almost inevitable I think…. .
I am more than happy for anyone who wants more information to contact me directly ([email protected], +44 7881 920184).
Paul Sherry
What do APS tell you for the $400 (more like $1000-2000 by the time you travel there etc) which any follower of modern engine management practices doesn’t already know?
AFAIK all the clued-up pilots with big engines already fly peak-EGT or LOP. And almost all maintenance engineers don’t buy into any of this modern stuff anyway, and that will never change.
There is the very useful trick of climbing (NA engine case) at a constant EGT.
Beyond that, I am not sure what is left. Maybe stuff specific to turbo engines, TIT limited? I would think such stuff is highly installation specific.
I am a great fan of John Deakin and him dragging GA kicking and screaming into the 20th century, but this is now 2017 and I need to ask what new engine management info has been discovered in say the past 10 years?
People who rent or are in “difficult” syndicates probably don’t have an engine monitor anyway, or aren’t interested because they are billed “wet”.
I flew to Oklahoma in 2015 to attend this course. It’s excellent value for all piston pilots, and particularly useful for anyone operating Lean of Peak, with or without GAMI injectors.
Highly recommended!
That is even more reason to say what exactly was found useful, rather than just saying it was great, etc.
I struggle to see the value for money there, assuming one has read up on the basics e.g. my old writeup
From the many previous threads on this topic, most of the people who don’t practice the “modern” engine management are doing so not because they are ignorant of it but because of externally imposed factors e.g. prohibitions on renters to lean the engine, or a lack of any engine monitor, or they have a monitor but it doesn’t work and there is no will to fix it, etc, etc…
Well you can take a look for yourself. I think it gave me a dramatically better understanding of engine combustion, timing and optimisation and how to manage the engine in real life. With a big bore turbocharged engine it is not sufficient to just say run at Peak EGT (unless you have a very big budget). I assume in the face to face course you can ask far more about specific implementations and problems or issues. I am typically skeptical of courses like this but it was full of info.
But I am just a happy customer and am not trying to sell the course.
https://www.advancedpilot.com/freesignup.php
Now of course I see any ICE as an abomination. But, if you must have one, best understand how it works.
Here’s a recent review of the APS course:
Just a heads-up.
We are in the final stages before the actual seminar. It is to be held at the Howest university in Kortrijk on 23-24-25 of June. The Live course takes 18 hours. At least two of the attendees have already attended the course in the US and are coming back for seconds.
I think every aircraft owner will benefit in reduced operating costs and less maintenance troubleshooting as well as increase safety by better understanding of what is going on inside the piston engine. It is not so much about nuts-and-bolts and greasy spanners but about what a pilot can do about the engine in flight and how to read and use the data coming from the engine analyser.
I can send a flyer with more information if you send me your email address. Also questions of local nature (hotels, directions, ways to get here etc).
I am the only pilot to have successfully landed at every single Project Propeller since it’s inception, and yet I am willing to sacrifice that record to go to APS instead this year; that demonstrates just how valuable I think it’s going to be.
