Composite Aircraft in the long term...

I feel better about aluminum airplanes,
which bend instead of crack under g-loads
experienced by aircraft in flight.
e.g. AA 587 -- you can't even use the rudder.
Look at these old Cessnas from the 1960s--
you just bend them back when they get a dent.

Fiberglass makes great sense for boats, because
aluminum will rust in the salt water.

The Cirrus makes a great doctor killer.
The people who shell out 300K for one of the
300 HP SR-22 models are the kind of BMW-driving
egomaniacs with more money than brains.
They stare at that computer
screen instead of looking out the window and
flying the plane, which they need to do in an
aircraft that is going so fast.
This is why the FAA has proposed
the FITS training standards program.
In 2018 I think there will be a lot more Cessna 172's
around.

Just my 2 cents.

Ted

Jay Honeck wrote:

Okay, so Cirrus is cooking along at 60 aircraft per month. They're selling
everything they can build, and people who have bought them are ecstatic.

Fast forward to the year 2018. What's going to be happening to these
composite beauties?

Reason for asking: A long discussion with some pilots who were staying at
the inn, who contend that they just won't last. Using as an example the
fiberglass wing tips and cowlings that always crack, flake, and crumble
after 15 years, requiring costly (and usually unsuccessful) repairs, these
pilots are convinced that the composite material in Cirrus will eventually
behave in much the same way. And once your fuselage parts start to crack,
flake, and delaminate, the planes will become essentially large
paper-weights.

So what's the group-think here? Will we by flying used Cirrus' in 20 years?
Or will they all be scrap by then?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"