Arlo,
There are no repair crews working on any planes in the game and you aren't penalized for damaging the plane when landing ON the runway (hell, I skid in on my belly intentionally to save stopping time, especially when the field is under attack). As well, there are no real "deaths", you get shot down, you hop in another plane and go again...and no limits on number of aircraft available. No penalties whatsoever for any of that, so why should landing in the grass on the airfield be any different?
The point is, people keep bringing realistic situations in to the discussions to bolster their arguement, and nothing wrong with that, but my point is, if you want realism, it should be equitable across the board and not selective to suit your personal tastes.
I have no problem with game play concessions, like only getting partial credits for kills if you die and don't return to base...that makes sense (actually, I'm surprised you get any credit at all), but to make someone lose points for not stopping on a runway is kind of silly in my opinion. Seems a bit nit picky and certainly a point of frustration (obviously) for many.
I admire HT for taking steadfast approaches to certain things, but sometimes I am a bit bewildered when his steadfastness doesn't make any sense.