Exactly my point Shawn. The average sport pilot is no different than the average competitor. Neither spends the time and effort to get the most out of their stuff. The average competitor has the choice of either getting serious or dropping out. Many opt the latter. The few that choose the former often stay for a lifetime,, myself included.

not certain what this turn in the thread Has to do with DA pricing strategy. I suppose it's related. Where the serious modeler might choose the DA, the average often will be swayed by the serious. That doesn't mean that the DLE performs worse, far from it. If either engine lasts 1000 flights or seven years, neither engine owes you anything. My DLE 55 is entering its sixth season while my OSs are entering their fourth and fifth. My older OS just had its first serious problm which was easy enough to fix .