RE: preferred type of airplane
Your mistake is making the assumption that we crash all of our airplanes. That is simply not true.
Yes we do crash from time to time but most of our airplanes will never suffer a crash. Many get traded away or retired somewhere in the back of the garage.
I have heard it said that all RC airplanes have an expiration date. I don't buy into that. If real airplanes were given the same mentality then man wouldn't bother to fly at all.