Ask any aircraft mechanic what the cheapest part of an airplane is, and more often than not, their answer will be “the owner.” While mostly true, what I find fascinating is our inconsistency. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of avionics upgrades and performance mods? Sign us up! Fifty-dollar ramp fees and fuel that’s 30 cents more per gallon than usual? You’ve got to be kidding.
It’s a bizarre set of standards we live by that usually defies logic. In my case, I can’t wrap my mind around spending more than about $500 to $1,000 on a tug to pull my airplane into and out of the hangar. I just can’t.
