No you did not start anything new, In fact though my short term memory is rapidly failing I can still recall all the exact same arguments concerning reuse of the rubber used to provide the energy to move that little wiggly thing on the back end of the airplane called a rudder in the distant past.

No concensus was ever reached then either.

For the new folks who do reuse rubber once or twice Do learn how to inspect each band before installing. Yes this inspection will give a clue to impending failure.

Stretch each one before use to at least twice its relaxed length and look very closely at the edges. If you see microscopic lateral cracks it will not last out the day. Keep in mind the rubber is not UV resistant and just a few hours in the direct sun is enough to cause problems.

Its for this reason its always advisable to keep even first time out rubber out of the sun for anything but brief periods. I always advise my students to always cover two things on their airplanes with a rag, coat or anything and that is your Transmitter and the wing rubber of your exposed and assembled airplane if used.

This will also serve to help keep the Receiver cooler which is indeed a concern with our modern 2.4 systems.

John