I could have written this post exactly as you have,I'm in a bummed out stage,after almost 20yrs flying & 3 yrs of it 3-D'ing I got to the point where I had to ask myself,"why am I putting myself thru this?". My 3 yrs at 3-D have led to more damage to planes than in the previous 17. I too used to be the role model of how long a plane can last with hundreds of flights(some 10yrs and over 500 flights) and now I'm banging them up regularly. Although most of the hard landings can be fixed,it still bums me out. I wonder how many 3-D'ers have gone thru this? I have to confess, I push myself to be the best,I want to stay down lower,longer and more often than everyone else and its costing me. I dont have a sim so I practice like a mental patient,I'm at the field more than everyone else. At this point, I have decided to be more selective when I get low,I have to be patient & wait for the best days (light wind)and keep it in closer so I can see it better. That should help some,I plan on using a cheap plane to do the heavy practicing on, a modified U-Can-Do 60. I know its not the best plane but I'm having some success with it;torque rolls,harriers,rollers,walls,sick slow HA KE and all the standard stuff like 4&8-pointers,blenders,flat spins&turns. I'm not real good at rolling harriers yet,avarage at torque rolling,can harrier better than anyone here,many good landings & long runs up&down the field.All on a U-Can-Do,I can do some of these maneuvers on other planes(Yak,Showtime)but I dont get low with them because of the speed they travel,I hope the "Do" doesnt ruin me from being able to fly the "better" planes. I guess some of us have to "pay to play". If it gets too hard on you,back off a notch or 2,...for a while at least!!