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The insurance racket...
Ahhh... "insurance".
Ballentines Law Dictionary defines it as: "A contract whereby one undertakes to indemnify another against loss, damage, or liability arising from an unknown or contingent event."
Hmmm. Now they're identifying a specfic circumstance, a known contingent event, in which you 'might' have a claim, such as upping the deductible to $10,000 CLAMS for any kind of a gear incident? Time to dump the insurance man folks. Time to visually inspect your gear and all components and assure that IT is within proper specifications per the Cessna Service Manual. You should also be doing this during the pre-flight. How many of you actually dump the gear doors down and physically inspect the undercarriage and its components, looking for tell-tale signs? Do you know what to 'listen' for when you hit the master switch in relation to the gear system? And were you aware that you can manually pump the gears back up to their closed position by having the power pack circuit breaker pulled and the master on? A good way to know if the manual pump is pressurizing the system properly.
Seriously folks, how many of you have actually "READ" your insurance policy, incluing ALL of the legalese fine print? You'd be surprised what you really bought... to some, it might well be considered the enduring 'pig-in-a-poke' for the amont of money you're forking over.
I've said it before... unless you're financing the plane and it's the collateral for the loan, DUMP the insurance man and invest the money in learning about your machine, including acquiring the Service and Parts manuals and purchasing any needed spares and special tools you'll need to maintain the plane. Invest some of the funds in stopping a would-be thief by the ability to properly secure the plane when it's not in use. Stop helping build black skyscrapers and making the insurance man's Mercedez monthly payment. Act responsible, and be responsible... from proper maintenance through the planning and preflight, the takeoff, the climb, the enroute segment, the letdown, approach, landing and finally securing the plane.
Ever hear of self insurance? That's where YOU are THE SOLE responsible party for all actions of the plane and its pilot-in-command, which most of the time is YOU. Stop putting the onus on someone else to bail out your actions or lack thereof. You'd be surprised how much of a safer pilot you'll become if it's YOU that the plane's safety and its flight ends with... better known as 'the buck stops with me.' As pilot in command, you are in reality, the final authority whether it flies or stays on the ground.
Of course, self-responsibility and discipline are commodities hard to come by in this age of throw aways and the 'let George do it' attitude... but being there aren't that many 337's around... then if you own one, you'll be rewarded over and over again by making sure that you and your plane are airworthy and capable of the mission at hand... without any doubt whatsoever that you cannot complete the mission as planned. Isn't this the true mark of the professional aviator?
Remember the general procedures required under FAR 61.43 at subpart (2) for the practical tests? "...the applicants ability to safely... Demonstrate MASTERY of the aircraft with the successful outcome of each task performed never seriously in doubt"?
The True Grit of responsible flying begins and ends with YOU. No insurance salesman or his policy of fine print can ever change that fact. Are you willing to take the risk for your actions? If not, then maybe you shouldn't own or control any property. It's easy to pass the risk off onto someone else. But it's quite another thing to assume the risk yourself. In the latter case, you must know your limitations... as well as those of your airplane.
SkyKing
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