If you've been here for that long, you should know that we're not known for our creativity. Complex engine managing and spontaneous catastrophic failures are not new ideas, and neither adds much to gameplay. Who wants to log on, find a fight, take off, fly a bit, get there, and then spontaneously burst into flames or have their engine die? I don't. HiTech's come on the bbs quite a few times and made his thoughts known on all the 'realism' stuff. This might be an interesting addition to ToD, but not the MA.
Just because you can beat a dead horse doesn't mean you should.