BEING A DYED-IN-THE-WOOL technology freak, I drive a Tesla Model 3. It has been a superbly reliable vehicle that doesn't require maintenance very often. But when it does, I take my Tesla to the nearest Tesla dealership, where it is worked on by factory-trained mechanics who work on nothing but Teslas all day long and know them like the backs of their hands. The situation was very similar in 1968 when I bought my first airplane, a brand-new 1968 Cessna 182 Skylane. I based it at what is now called John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. In those days, there were three big aircraft dealerships on the field: a Cessna dealer, a Piper dealer, and a Beechcraft dealer. When my Skylane needed maintenance, I took it to the Cessna dealership on the field, which employed a half-dozen factory-trained airframe and powerplant mechanics who worked on nothing but single-engine Cessnas all day long. The Cessna dealership also had a parts room to die for, so when my airplane needed some component to be replaced it was likely to be in stock. Owners of Pipers and Beechcraft on the field enjoyed the same happy circumstance at their factory dealerships.
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