Really that is not a good analogy. Because you have auto insurance, if you cannot afford to pay the damage out of pocket, the insurance claim pays up. You make the decision on whether to pay out of pocket or go the insurance route.

Maybe in that last paragraph is the answer to the expensive planes shot down question. If you have that much money tied up in one plane, you should insure it against damage. Where you would get that insurance I do not have any idea. But I know that if I accidently shot your expensive plane down, I would not be able to pay you to replace it. You could try and take my van, but my company would have you arrested for stealing their property (I drive a company vehicle). So that would leave you with bodily injury, which would cost you more than you have in your precious plane by the time my lawyer got finished with you.

Now I am usually a level headed person. If I shot down someone, I would try to make it right with them. It is very easy to turn on a transmitter without really thinking about it. I like what I am hearing about the transmitters that actually scan the channel before transmitting. When prices come down, and my business picks up, I will be getting one of them.

The only thing I have a problem with is people that think that since they invest so much more into this hobby than I could possibly afford, that if an accident happens they get to bankrupt me or worse. That kind of attitude needs a serious adjustment! What makes someone think that they have that right? I can understand a $350 plane, even though I could not afford to replace one of them, I would do that. But thousands of dollars? This is a hobby! A hobby is something that you do with your extra money. In this hobby, there are many things that could happen that would cause you to lose your plane that have nothing to do with being shot down. What if you flameout on takeoff? What if you have mechanical failure? If something like that happens, would you be looking for someone to replace your plane?