Your point although well made is also a little obvious.
Given the extremely high costs of owning and operating these machines, the limitations of life and scarcity of some components, and the almost complete lack of "usefull work" available for these beasts, how are you going to get anybody in the air often enough to keep really current ?
As has been previously mentioned, many of the piston types were designed during war time when the operational life expectancy of the machine was not more than a very few hours. That is not to say they were designed to be disposable, but it doesn't mean they were built for longevity either. They are, by design, maintenance intensive.
Yes, there are professionals who make a full time job out of flying these types, but there are many types and only a scarce few professionals. For these pilots to keep optimum currency on all the types available, they would have to fly three times more often (presumably gaining no revenue from it) and the aircraft would wear out three times as fast.
So who's going to pay for it all ?
If you have plenty of cash you can go out and buy a Ferrari, drive it hard, and there will always be the possibility that you may accidentally kill yourself in it.
However undesirable, you can do the same thing in an aeroplane. It might be as rare as a Spitfire, but the owner has the right to do with it as he or she wishes (within reason).
FlyingLawyer summed it up absolutely perfectly in his original post concerning the crashes - it is worth reading again.
People are free to try to climb Everest, or race yachts around the world solo, or indulge in whatever passtime they choose, as long as they don't hurt others and are prepared for the consequences. The difference here is, in return for doing it publicly (and sharing the joy of their sport with those who can't do it themselves), the occasional tragic consequence may also be a very public one. That is the price they choose to pay.
[This message has been edited by Weary (edited 07 June 2001).]