the shoddy FAA oversight
We are the aviation professionals. Sure, the FAA, and every other authority are important elements of aviation safety, but we pilots should be doing it right because we are professionals, not because the FAA could be overseeing that day. How many FAA inspectors of this era would have a working understanding of the systems of a B17? Few, I opine, the technical expertise for this vintage types lies much more with the operator than the authority. Do we, as taxpayers, want to be funding the cost to assure that the authority's inspectors are conversant with every type? We aviation professionals keep flying affordable in part by satisfying the safety system
that we fly safely, rather than
how we fly safely.