Hi John
I guess that it is a fine balance.
We want people to keep flying these beautiful antique aircraft - but
there ain't too many of them for them to practice on.

I can only hope that your plane is repairable and will be back in the
air soon.

Tony
--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

In article ,
john smith wrote:

There is more to flying antique airplanes than manipulating the controls
and taking off and landing. There is also knowledge of the peculiarities
of the type, make and model.
The idiosynchrasies of starting, operating and shutting down the engine;
hand propping, fueling and securing the aircraft. These are things which
are not spelled out by insurance requirements or the FAA.
They are not things the typical instructor can impart in minimum
mandated insurance requirements.
Pilot knowledge varies greatly and even setting a minimum number of
flight hours does not mean that a given pilot is capable of safely
beginning or even completing a given flight.
Sadly, that lesson was brought home this morning when an aircraft I fly
was badly damaged by a pilot who was recently checked out in the
aircraft and met all the "legal" requirements.