Michael D. Busch — Savvy Aviator, Inc.

Mr. Busch has more than 50 years of aviation experience and is arguably the best-known A&P/IA mechanic in general aviation. He possesses an unusual breadth and depth of technical knowledge as a pilot, flight instructor, mechanic, inspector, aircraft owner and consultant, with focus on maintenance and operation of piston-powered general aviation airplanes. He also brings 48 years of experience as a widely published aviation writer and a high-profile aviation speaker, lecturer and educator, with a reputation for offering easy-to-understand explanations of complex and technical aviation subjects.

His best-selling 2014 book Manifesto: A Revolutionary Approach to General Aviation Maintenance has received universally rave reviews from aircraft owners, mechanics, and FAA regulators. His other books include Mike Busch on Engines and Mike Busch on Aircraft Ownership (Volumes 1 and 2). He is the industry's most prolific writer and teacher in the field of aircraft maintenance, having authored many hundreds of articles including monthly maintenance columns in AOPA PILOT, EAA Sport Aviation, American Bonanza Society, Cirrus Pilot, and Cessna Pilots Association magazines.

His decades of writing, teaching and outreach in support of aviation safety were acknowledged by the Federal Aviation Administration when the agency honored Mr. Busch as “National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year” for 2008, an award presented to him in person by the FAA Administrator at a ceremony in July 2008 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Mr. Busch is an expert on FAA maintenance regulations and has worked closely with the Rulemaking Division of the FAA Office of General Counsel (AGC-200) in the development of several landmark regulatory interpretations to reduce the regulatory maintenance burden on aircraft owners. At the FAA's invitation, he served on the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee Airman Certification Standards Working Group (ARAC ACS-WG) to help formulate new FAA training, testing and guidance for A&P mechanics.

In addition, Mr. Busch is a mathematician and computer software expert with the ability to perform computer reconstruction of aircraft accidents, and to develop demonstrative evidence in the form of digitized graphics, computer animation and video. This unique combination of technical aviation expertise, communications skills and computer capabilities makes Mr. Busch especially well suited as an aviation consultant and expert witness.

Aviation Background

Founder (in 2008) and president of Savvy Aircraft Maintenance Management, Inc., the world's largest firm providing professional maintenance management and maintenance consulting for owner-flown aircraft. The firm presently manages the maintenance of nearly 1,000 piston-powered single- and twin-engine aircraft (including nearly 10% of the Cirrus fleet in the United States), offering aircraft owners expert guidance and representation in their relationship with service centers and maintenance providers. The firm employs the same commonsense reliability-centered approach to maintenance that Mr. Busch articulated in his book Manifesto, ensuring the highest level of safety and reliability, while at the same time eliminating the costs and risks of maintenance that offers no meaningful benefit. [http://www.savvymx.com]

Founder and president of Savvy Aviator, Inc., providing expert technical training and consulting services for aircraft owners and expert witness services for aviation attorneys, with focus on maintenance issues. Between 2002 and 2010, Mr. Busch conducted 10 to 20 17-hour weekend seminars each year for aircraft owners and mechanics at venues throughout the U.S. His seminars have been approved by the FAA for Inspection Authorization (IA) renewal credit, and endorsed by American Bonanza Society, Avemco Insurance Company, Cessna Pilots Association, Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association, and FlightSafety International.  [http://www.savvyaviator.com]

Longtime member of the technical staff of the Cessna Pilots Association (CPA), the world's largest aviation “type club” with more than 10,000 members worldwide who own and operate piston-powered Cessna aircraft. Mr. Busch has been a member of CPA's technical staff for three decades, writes a monthly “Tech Topics” column in CPA's magazine.  Areas of special expertise include all models of piston-powered Cessna aircraft (especially 300- and 400-series twins), Continental engines, and turbocharging. In his role as CPA's expert on 300- and 400-series twins, Mr. Busch was instrumental in the development of several milestone Airworthiness Directives affecting those aircraft, and has worked closely with the FAA Maintenance Division in Washington DC, the FAA Small Airplane Directorate in Kansas City, and the FAA Aircraft Certification Office in Wichita, and the FAA Office of General Counsel (Regulations Division) in Washington DC, [http://www.cessna.org]

Technical consultant to the American Bonanza Society (ABS), the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Writes monthly articles on maintenance-related issues for AOPA PILOT, EAA Sport Aviation, ABS Magazine, and Cirrus Pilot Magazine/.

Co-founder in 1998 of Aeromedix LLC, a firm in Jackson Hole, Wyo., providing oxygen systems, pulse oximeters, CO detectors, smoke hoods, and other health- and safety-related technologies to the aviation community. [http://www.aeromedix.com]

Co-founder in 1995 of AVweb, the pioneering Internet-based aviation news service and magazine with over 130,000 subscribers. Mr. Busch served as AVweb's editor-in-chief for more than 7 years it was acquired in late 2002 by Belvoir Publications. [http://www.avweb.com]

A professional aviation writer since 1970, Mr. Busch has published hundreds of articles in numerous aviation publications, including Air Facts, American Bonanza Society Magazine, AOPA Pilot, AVweb, Cessna Pilots Association Magazine, Cirrus Pilot, IFR, Light Plane Maintenance, and The Aviation Consumer.

Mr. Busch is also much in demand as an aviation speaker and lecturer on technical subjects ranging from instrument flying to aircraft maintenance, and has given numerous technical seminars at EAA AirVenture, AOPA Expo/Summit and Regional Fly-Ins, Aviation Industry Expo, Cayman Islands International Aviation Week, the FBI Academy (Quantico VA), and many other venues. His Savvy Owner Seminars and monthly EAA-sponsored maintenance webinars provide training in maintenance management, decision making and troubleshooting to owners of all makes and models of piston-powered aircraft and their mechanics.

Mr. Busch purchased his first aircraft in 1968, and has owned a succession of piston-powered general aviation aircraft since then. He currently owns, operates, flies and maintains a 1979 Cessna T310R piston twin and serves as the sole pilot and mechanic for that aircraft.

Certificates and Ratings

Commercial pilot: single- and multiengine land, single-engine sea, instrument, glider.

Flight instructor: airplanes, instruments, multiengine (CFIA/I/ME).

Mechanic: airframe & powerplant, with inspection authorization (A&P/IA).

Aircraft Experience by Type

Types flown: Aviat Husky; Beech 33, 35, 36; Bellanca 17-30A; Cessna 150, 152, 172, 177, 177RG, 182, R182, TR182, 195, 206, T206, 210, T210, 310, T310, 337, 340, 414, 421, 425; Columbia 350; Cirrus SR-22; Mooney M20; Piper J-3, PA-18, PA-28, PA-31.

Types maintained: Beech 33, 35, 36, 55, 58; Bellanca 17-30A; Cessna 150, 152, 172, 177, 177RG, 182, R182, TR182, 195, 206, T206, 210, T210, 310, T310, 337, 340, 402, 414, 421; Cirrus SR-20, SR-22, SR-22TN, SR-22T; Piper PA-28.

Aviation-Specific Training

Cessna 300/400-Series Maintenance Training Program (10 days), FlightSafety Cessna Maintenance Learning Center, Wichita KS.

Continental Motors Aviation Technician Advanced Training Program (5 days), Continental Motors factory, Mobile AL.

Organizational Affiliations

Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association

American Bonanza Society

Cessna Pilots Association

Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association

Experimental Aircraft Association

Professional Aviation Maintenance Association