How long will a Cirrus Last?

Question

Comparing Cirrus with Cessnas, one being Composite and the other being aluminum, my question is. I fly a pretty old Cessna 172, a 1976. The plane is actually older than me. Its a 32 Year old Plane. Will Cirrus be able to make that amount of time? Wont the Composites and fiber glass able to hold any longer?

Answer 1

Theoretically there is no age limit for either aircraft, but only time will tell if there are potential problems with these newer composites, either through degradation of the composite materials or repetetive stress issues. They certainly won't have the corrosion problems that plague aluminum aircraft. Heck, your C-172 is a new one compared to mine, which is a 1959 model, and I also have a 1943 Stinson that's half wood. Nothing wrong with either of these planes, and as long as they're properly looked after there's no reason they shouldn't stay flying indefinitely.