Manifesto: A Revolutionary Approach to General Aviation Maintenance

By: Mike Busch A&P/IA

Narrated by: Michael D. Busch

There’s a dirty little secret about aviation maintenance: It often breaks aircraft instead of fixing them.

Manifesto is the much-anticipated first audiobook from renowned aviation columnist and speaker Mike Busch. Written in typical no-nonsense style, it lays out the basis of Mike's “minimalist” maintenance philosophy for owner-flown general aviation aircraft. An owner who follows the audiobook's guidance can save a small fortune on maintenance costs and end up with a safer, more reliable aircraft.

Owners are advised to perform the absolute least amount of maintenance required to make their aircraft safe, reliable and legal...and nothing more. The audiobook explains in detail why engine and propeller TBOs and most other manufacturer-prescribed maintenance intervals should be disregarded. And Manifesto explains exactly how to do it.

About the author:

Mike Busch is arguably the best-known A&P/IA in general aviation. In 2008, he was honored by the FAA as “National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year”. Mike has been a prolific aviation writer for more than four decades. His “Savvy Aviator” columns have appeared in numerous publications including AOPA Pilot (where he writes the monthly "Savvy Maintenance" column), EAA Sport Aviation, AVweb, and magazines for the three largest GA type clubs (ABS, CPA, and COPA). He is renowned for his free monthly maintenance webinars and his standing-room-only forums at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Mike has been a pilot and aircraft owner for more than 50 years with 8,000+ hours logged, and he is a CFIA/I/ME. He’s founder and CEO of Savvy Aviation, Inc., the world’s largest firm providing maintenance-management services for owner-flown aircraft.

©2014 Michael D. Busch (P)2020 Michael D. Busch

Mike Busch is a genius!

Absolutely awesome book, I wish I would’ve known this 20 years ago! I think Mikes opinion on aviation, maintenance is spot on! 

This is a must read for any GA aircraft owner

I felt neurons melting as I listened. I love his comparison between taking apart an engine and doing surgery. I watched the US Navy slowly transition to the same reliability centered maintenance strategy that Mike advocates when I was a junior officer back in the 90's. I personally witnessed hundreds of thousand (probably millions) of dollars worth of damage done to perfectly operational equipment because we had a piece of paper that told us it was time to do so...not because we were intelligently monitoring the system's performance, analyzing, and reacting to what it was telling us. Brilliant book...waiting impatiently for his other books to work their way to audio as well.

Must listen for all aircraft owners

Highly recommended for anyone in the aviation community to listen to this book. Enlightens the mind and compacts 45 years of experience into 3 hours of enjoyable listening on a level anyone can understand.

Great author.. great read!

Must read for anyone curious about aviation maintenance. Highly recommended! Likely to save aircraft owner’s a lot of time, money and headache!

Thumbs up

Narrator keep me ingauged and I learned a few things being a student in aviation. Mike also had some good videos on you tube.