Of the many tasks that we have to perform as pilots, leaning the engine is one of the simplest. Leaning is vastly easier than shooting a circling approach in low IMC, picking the smoothest route through a cold front or deciding when to overhaul the engine. Yet no subject I know seems to trigger more discussion and debate among pilots, nor to provide more misinformation and bad advice. Although I usually devote this column to maintenance-related topics, aircraft owners seem to ask me more questions about leaning procedures than just about any other subject. It's obvious to me that, despite the simplicity of this subject, it remains poorly understood by a lot of aviators. So I thought it might be worthwhile to revisit my approach to leaning, and then address some of the questions that pilots seem to have about it. The best source I know for in-depth information about optimal powerplant management is the 2-1/2-day Advanced Pilot Seminars(APS) course developed by my good friends George Braly, Walter Atkinson and John Deakin. This outstanding seminar is offered both as a "live" course several times a year in Ada, Okla., and occasionally elsewhere, and is also available in a home-study, on-line version. Tuition is about $1000 for the live course and about $400 for the on-line course. I've taken both the live and on-line versions, and both are excellent. The objective of the APS course is to offer pilots an in-depth understanding of powerplant management, both theory and practice. It offers a huge amount of information on the subject, and most APS graduates liken the experience to drinking from a firehose. But many pilots are reluctant to invest the time, money and neurons into gaining that level understanding of powerplant management. Many are just looking for a simple, cookbook-like approach to leaning that doesn't require a rocket scientist to master.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/ownership/the-savvy-aviator-59-egt-cht-and-leaning