After a fashion, our reader surveys are sometimes like collective scab picking. That’s certainly the case for this month’s reader feedback project on owner experiences with factory rebuilt and overhauled engines. The results proved illuminating, but also highly polarized. In other words, we hear from the outer bands of the spectrum—those pleased and those not so pleased—but not from the broad middle ground of people who are mildly satisfied or maybe just not thrilled.
This round of surveying seemed to yield more bile than any recent surveys and I think there’s an explanation for that. Many owners are just hanging on to the notion that their airplanes retain good value. I’m not talking about market value, but personal, perceived value. In other words, is all the money I’m spending on this thing still worth it?