Have you priced out a prop, crankshaft and bulk overhaul lately? Yeah, nothing is low cost for aircraft, and that situation is only going to get worse. Insurance companies know this too. If you'd like to keep the cost of insurance jut a little bit lower, apply your flying skills the best you can to mitigate damage for them (or yourself, if you're self insured). If you can prevent something being damaged with minimal risk, do that! Why not be thought of well by your peers for an act of airmanship with good intent, and a better than normal outcome (like the pilot who inspired this discussion), instead of making the insurance adjuster, agent, repair shop(s), and some peers roll their eyes while they think about how they'd have done it differently. Fly better to inspire other pilots to also fly better, rather than saying "that's all I have to do, so it's all I will do".I can see with the ridiculous parts prices how damage costs can easily exceed hull value, best be saving that 2 blade prop then.
You'd be amazed how long planes last if you treat them gently, while flying them with skill. (Spoken as the owner of one of my planes for 31 years, and another for 10 years now). I'm proud of how I have returned every plane I was flying to where it was supposed to be, with no pilot induced damage of any consequence. Some of those safe returns have been with some pretty significant failures, including four engine failures, three significant control system failures, and two events (sadly on the same set of floats on two different planes) where a mainwheel would not extend.
Demonstrate that super pilot skill every now and then to keep flying more economical for all of us!
