On Sep 15, 2:44*pm, "Ol Shy & Bashful" wrote:
How about you? If you had to pay for the brakes, tires, and
maintenance, would YOU beat up the airplane?

Haha - I have to admit that I didn't give it much consideration when I
was a renter. Coupled with the fact the flight school was near the
approach end of the usual runway I likely abused them to make the
early turnoff.

Funny how buying a plane and having to pay for them yourself changes
your perspective on things - now I try not to use them at all if I can
help it. Although, I would challenge you to taxi to my hangar without
using brakes - taxiway E at AGC goes down a pretty substantial hill so
I don't see that I have much choice.

Also, once when flying with an instructor and landing somewhere with a
shorter runway, I rolled down to the end with the yoke full back but
still had to brake a bit to make the last turnoff. The instructor
pointed out it's probably a good idea to find out if your brakes work
sometime before you roll down the embankment at the end... So now I
make it a point to at least give them a tap while I still have time to
do something about it if they don't work.