On 27 Oct 2006 03:37:37 -0700, "cpw" wrote:

One of my partners in our 1974 Citabria bounced a landing and had a
prop strike. We are rebuilding the engine and buying a new prop, of
course, but he feels awful about it. This has caused me to speculate;
how many long time pilots have flown without ever damaging an aircraft?

"It ain't the years...it's the mileage."

36 years of flying, ~20+ years of ownership, nothing to speak of (yet) but my
total time isn't all that high. We've got a guy in my EAA chapter who has
crashed four times in 50 years...three due to mechanical problems (including a
case of jammed controls) and once when landing in unexpectedly-deep snow.

Ron Wanttaja