AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2025 - 88

RUDDER & WRENCH
to the EDC and make sure they're all
securely attached. Also, check the
mounting screws and make sure the
EDC is firmly attached to the firewall. "
Annecchini proceeded to poke, prod,
and wiggle everything in the vicinity of
the EDC.
The smoke test
" OK, now turn on the master switch let the
CGR-30P boot up, and then let me know
what temperature indications you see. "
Annecchini followed these instructions
and lo and behold the oil temperature and
CHTs were nice and cool.
Watson suggested that Annecchini
88
should start the engine, taxi out, perform
a normal preflight runup, and if the
temperature readings still looked normal,
take off and fly home to Kansas City. " If
the temperatures are still wonky, taxi to
parking and call me back. "
The temps remained normal.
Annecchini had an uneventful flight home,
and reported this to Watson on the ticket.
Watson suggested that Annecchini have
his regular mechanic or avionics technician
double-check the EDC connections
just to be on the safe side.
Epilogue
Annecchini's experience is not unusual.
About 50 percent of the time an aircraft
owner calls us on the breakdown assistance
hotline with an AOG issue, we are
able to diagnose and resolve or work
around the problem and get the caller
back in the air quickly and safely without
involving a local shop or mechanic.
The other 50 percent of the time, we provide
a pinpoint diagnosis and then work
with a local mechanic to get the problem
resolved as soon as possible.
Savvy's breakdown assistance hotline
is the aeronautical equivalent of roadside
assistance-we refer to it as " AAA for GA. "
The biggest difference is that we can't just
call a tow truck to haul the airplane to a
repair station-we have to deal with the
problem wherever the airplane is stuck.
That can sometimes get tricky, especially
if the AOG occurs at an airport with no
maintenance services. (I recall one call we
got from the owner of a Cirrus SR22 that
suffered a prop strike on an island airstrip
that could be reached only by ferry boat;
that one was fun.)
But we do whatever it takes to get
the caller back in the air. And often all it
takes is a phone call from a subject matter
expert who really knows his stuff.
mike.busch@savvyaviation.com
savvyaviation.com
Ask the A&Ps /
Mike Busch, Paul New, and Colleen
Sterling answer your toughest aviation
maintenance questions on our Ask the
A&Ps podcast. Submit questions to
podcasts@aopa.org
aopa.org/ask-the-a-and-ps
Amazing pilots, great journeys,
expert advice. Tune in to
AOPA's dynamic and exciting
lineup to learn, grow, and
engage more as a pilot.
Whether a conversation about
what it takes to fly a Warbird,
lessons learned from bad
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podcast lineup covers it all.
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2025

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